U.S. HOUSE PANEL APPROVES TRADE BILL

  The U.S. 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 10 pct trade surplus cut
  by those countries.
  

