Brussels, 18/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, upon expiry of the three month time limit set by the Multilateral Agreement on safeguard measures, the European Commission notified the World Trade Organisation that the Union is suspending its tariff concessions on two lists of American export products liable to sanctions in the context of the steel dispute with the United States. As Commissioner Pascal Lamy prepares to go to Washington for a two day visit beginning Thursday, Europeans no longer have their hands tied for placing surcharges on a series of products (steel, weapons, textiles, food, furniture, etc.) in the event of failure of talks on a compensatory package, if not the condemnation of the disputed provision at multilateral level, said the spokesman for the Commissioner, Anthony Gooch. In this last hypothesis, he recalled, the heaviest penalties (up to EUR 606 million) would automatically come into action without having to go through the test of the Council of Ministers again (see EUROPE of 14 June, p.12). In the meantime, products covered by the "short" list, which aims at a trade value of EUR 378 million, remain liable to penalties, subject to the go-ahead of the Fifteen enacting by qualified majority. It is in this last eventuality or that of neutralisation of the American measures, that the Commission will submit to the Fifteen, on 19 July, its appreciation of the compensatory package (tariff concessions on European products other than steel) and exclusions (of American surtax) expected from Washington We recall that, at this stage, the US authorities are simply excluding certain steel deliveries from the scope of application of the safeguard provision, a process that should come to an end on 3 July according to the timetable put forward in the presidential declaration of 20 March. Europeans nonetheless leave themselves a margin of two weeks for possibly postponing the deadline on the American side and for needs that they themselves will assess. A reprieve of three months is also envisaged, to take into account the fact that it is likely the tariff concessions they hope to obtain will be taken through Congress. On the chapter of compensation strictly speaking, Europeans put their cards on the table in the context of consultation held in the spring, and, although they are waiting for Washington to send the ball back to them, "publicly, echoes are negative".