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.
  

