U.S. HOUSE PANEL VOTES TO EASE EXPORT CONTROLS
A key House panel voted to greatly
ease government controls on exports as several House committees
moved rapidly toward approval of major changes in trade laws
they hope will help solve U.S. trade woes.
    The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International
Economic Policy voted to direct the administration to cut the
list of controlled exports by 40 per cent by removing items no
longer considered important to U.S. military security.
    Industries had complained they were losing sales to foreign
competitors who were allowed to export freely products U.S.
companies could not sell abroad.
    The issue has been the subject of administration debate.
The Commerce Department had held that unnecessary restrictions
impeded U.S. exports while the Defense Department said current
controls should be retained but better administered.
    Four congressional panels met today to consider portions of
a wideranging trade bill that intends to help U.S. companies
sell more products abroad and to fight unfair foreign trade
practices.
    Their separate proposals, some of them conflicting, will be
woven by House Democratic leaders into a final trade bill for a
vote by the full House in late April.
    Sparked by the proposal of Fujitsu Ltd. to take controlling
interest in Schlumberger Ltd's Fairchild Semiconductor Corp.,
the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Commerce voted to
expand Reagan's authority to block foreign takeovers of U.S.
companies.
    Reagan would be able to block any takeover found to be
damaging to U.S. economic or national security interests.
    "We are losing our semiconductors which are at the heart of
our national security," subcommittee chairman James Florio, a
New Jersey Democrat said.
    The subcommittee also called for the administration to
consider retaliation against Japan for its restrictive
government procurement practices.
    The retaliation could be triggered by a requirement that
the administration investigate whether U.S. companies were
treated unfairly and whether they have been barred from bids on
lucrative public works projects such as the eight billion dlr
Kansai airport construction. U.S. firms have complained they
were not allowed to bid on its construction.
    At the urging of the U.S. recording industry, the
subcommittee agreed to bar imports of a new Japanese
product--digital audio recorders.
    Meeting in closed session, the House Ways and Means
Committee agreed to allow President Reagan to retaliate against
foreign countries that refuse to open their markets to U.S.
telecommunications products.
     Congressional aides said the committee also agreed U.S.
companies would be allowed to press for relief from imports of
counterfeit products made in violation of U.S. copyright and
patent laws.
                                         
 Reuter
