U.S. HOUSE PANEL APPROVES TRADE BILL
The House Ways and Means Trade 
Subcommittee unanimously approved a toned-down version of
legislation designed to toughen U.S. trade laws and wedge open
foreign markets to more U.S. goods.
    The measure now goes to the full House Ways and Means
Committee next week, but major changes are not expected,
congressional sources said.
    "This product could very well be toughening our trade policy
and doing it in a manner that opens markets without this
frightening word 'protectionism'," Ways and Means chairman Dan
Rostenkowski, an Illinois Democrat said.
    The trade subcommittee backed away from mandating specific
retaliation against foreign countries for unfair foreign trade
practices as the House had approved in a trade bill last year.
    But it held over for the full Ways and Means Committee
debate on a controversial plan by Rep. Richard Gephardt to
mandate a reduction in trade surpluses with the U.S. by
countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
    Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, has not decided the exact
form of his amendment, an aide said. Last year the House
approved his idea to force an annual ten pct trade surplus cut
by those countries. 
    The trade bill will be wrapped in with legislation from
other committees dealing with relaxation of export controls,
incentives for research, expanded worker training and education
and other efforts to increase U.S. competitiveness.
    The comprehensive trade bill is to be considered by the
full House in late April and then will be considered by Senate
committees.
    It requires President Reagan to retaliate against foreign
unfair trade practices but do not mandate quotas or tariffs and
allow an exemption if U.S. economic security would be harmed by
U.S. actions against other countries.
    The bill would make it easier for U.S. industries to win
relief from surges of imports of competitive products.
    It extends until January 1993, the administration's
authority to negotiate trade agreements as part of the new
round of multilateral talks under the General Agreements on
Tariffs and Trade.
    And, it includes provisions to tighten trade rules on
copyrights, patents and telecommunications goods.
 Reuter
