Geneva, 24/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - Whereas the President of the United States, George Bush, was beginning a round of Europe, the Americans, as expected (see EUROPE of 23 May page 9) opposed the setting up of a panel responsible for examining the compliance of the new customs duties applicable to imported steel with international rules of competition. The panel, that will have to decide on the American-European dispute by 2003, will therefore have to be set up at the next meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body scheduled for 3 June. The United States could in fact only oppose the setting up of the panel one time.
Speaking in Washington on Tuesday at a debate organised by the World Economic Forum, Pascal Lamy, European Commissioner responsible for trade, considered that "steel and the Farm Bill are part of the price to pay" for President Bush to secure from Congress the possibility of negotiating international trade agreements (TPA) alone. This possibility is considered essential by Washington to negotiate the Doha Round. "I can understand that (…) but the TPA must not have too high a price for us", said Lamy. The Commissioner was o go to Ghent (Belgium) Friday on the site of the steel manufacturer Sidmar (subsidiary of the giant Arcelor), so assess on the ground the impact of the American measures and the way the defensive provisions worked out by his services were greeted