KEY U.S. HOUSE PANEL FINISHES MAJOR TRADE BILL

  The House Ways and Means Committee
  completed action on legislation to toughen U.S. trade laws,
  chairman Dan Rostenkowski said.
      The committee's consideration of one of the most
  controversial provisions, a plan to force major trade surplus
  countries to cut their trade imbalance with the United States,
  was deferred until the full House considers the trade bill, its
  sponsor Rep. Richard Gephardt said.
      Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, told Reuters he was not
  certain the exact form his trade surplus reduction proposal
  would take. Last year the House approved his plan to force a 10
  pct surplus cutback each year for four years, by countries such
  as Japan.
      The Ways and Means Committess' trade bill forces President
  Reagan to retaliate against unfair trade practices that violate
  international trade agreements but it allows him to wave
  retaliatory tariffs or quotas if the action would hurt the U.S.
  economy.
      The trade bill gives U.S. Trade Representative Clayton
  Yeutter more authority in trade negotiations and in decisions
  to grant domestic industries import relief.
      It also gives him authority to decide whether foreign trade
  practices are unfair and violate U.S. trading rights. These
  powers are currently held by President Reagan.
      The administration has strongly objected to this transfer
  of authority from Reagan to Yeutter.
      The bill also extends U.S. authority to negotiate
  multilateral trade agreements. The bill will be wrapped into
  other trade legislation and voted on in the House in April.
  

