BRITISH AIDE CRITICIZES U.S.PROTECTIONISM

  A senior British official said that
  protectionist bills being considered by Congress could trigger
  retaliation by the European Community (EEC) and threaten the
  global trading system.
      Paul Channon, secretary for trade and industry, said if
  Congress passed legislation to curb textile imports, which
  would hit EC shipments as well as shipments from major Asian
  textile producers, "the community would have to retaliate."
      His comments echoed those made yesterday by Belgian Trade
  Minister Herman De Croo, who said if the bill passed, the
  community would retaliate by imposing taxes on U.S. exports.
      Channon made his remarks at a news conference after two
  days of talks with Reagan Administration officials and members
  of Congress.
      De Croo was also in Washington for trade talks.
      Channon said there was a greater protectionism sentiment in
  Congress since his visit here last year as Congress and the
  Administration tried to find ways to reduce the U.S. trade
  deficit, which last year hit a record 169.8 billion dlrs.
      Channon also called for greater EC-U.S. cooperation to
  force Japan to open its markets to foreign goods.
      Channon said Japan's trade surplus is causing everyone
  problems - its surplus with the United States last year was
  51.5 billion dlrs and with EC nations, 16.7 billion dlrs.
      "The more united pressure there could be, the better," he
  said.
      Channon also called for increased U.S.-EC cooperation to
  avoid trade disputes.
      He said the two sides narrowly avoided a confrontation
  earlier this year over lost grains sales when Spain and
  Portugal joined the community and its liberal imports
  regulations were tightened to conform to EC standards.
      "But if both sides drew back from the brink that time," he
  said, ""it does not mean that they would do so on another
  occasion."
      Channon added that "There is increasing reesentment in
  Europe over the U.S. tactic of negotiating under the pressure
  of unilaterally imposed deadlines."
      He said other potential conflicts are already in sight -
  alleged European government subsidies of Airbus aircraft and
  taxes on fats and oils - and "the commuity and the United States
  must therefore learn to manage their relations better."
      He said another bill to let the United States retaliate
  against a nation if that nation's market was not open to U.S.
  goods would bypass the trade pact GATT (General Agreeeement on
  Tariffs and Trade) as an arbiter of trade practices.
      He said foreign trade law should be judged by GATT and not
  by the United States, adding "if the (trade) law is to be
  interpreted by the United States and not by the GATT, what is
  to happen to the rest of us?"
  

