GATT COUNCIL DEFERS DECISION ON SEMICONDUCTORS

  The ruling GATT Council deferred a
  decision on whether to set up a dispute panel on the basis of a
  European Community complaint against the U.S.- Japanese
  agreement on exports of computer semiconductors.
      David Woods, spokesman of the General Agreement on Tariffs
  and Trade (GATT), told a news briefing that the main parties
  would continue bilateral talks. This was in the hope of
  resolving the row before the next Council meeting on April 15.
      The five-year accord signed in July 1986 aims to protect
  the U.S. Market from dumping of low-price Japanese microchips,
  officially known as semiconductors.
      The E.C. Complained the accord breached GATT trade rules by
  allowing Tokyo to monitor prices, allowing it to set minimum
  prices for Japanese chips sold in third countries.
      The 12-nation Community also charged the agreement gave
  U.S. Producers preferential access to the Japanese market.
      Woods said many nations -- Hong Kong, Canada, Switzerland,
  Singapore, Sweden, Malaysia and Nigeria -- had supported the EC
  complaint during the heated Council debate.
      Japan's delegate, Minoru Endo, and U.S. Ambassador Michael
  Samuels replied in the debate that the E.C. Charges were
  unfounded, but they were willing to continue bilateral talks.
  

