European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 10, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fear of foreign imports stamped by Mike Robinson associated press Bohol senso Broeki senso and with that declaration of a Trade War in japanese by  Baucus d-monl., the Battle lines we reset Between a president committed to free Trade and a Congress Ever aware that the jobs of their constituents were being lost to foreign imports. First the juror was Over japanese automobiles. Then attention turned to steel and textiles. Now whatever the product be it roses Grapefruit Copper pork Wool steel shoes even water Beds Here s someone in Congress who wants to protect it from foreign imports. President Reagan Calls it a mindless Stampede toward  i will continue to resist protectionist measures that would Only raise prices lock out Trade and destroy the jobs and Prosperity Trade brings to All he declared last month. But at the same time he added i will not stand by and watch american businesses fall because of unfair trading practices abroad. I will not stand by  watch american workers lose their jobs because other nations do not play by the  but that was not enough to halt the cry of protectionism on Capitol Hill where measures to Roll Back imports of textiles clothing shoes and Luggage Are moving closer to Reagan s desk in Defiance of threats of a presidential veto. The democrats see the White House response As a Campaign Issue one that can be used As they try to wrestle the Senate from Republican hands in 1986. But support for protectionist legislation crosses party lines. Sen. John Danforth r-mo., for example is a co sponsor of a Bill to impose Tough shoe quotas. And he also has proposed a measure that would require Reagan to impose quotas on autos from Japan unless that nation chopped Trade barriers. Why the Stampede toward protectionism the . Manufacturing Trade balance the difference Between what americans pay for imports and receive for exports ran $123.3 billion into trip red in 1984. The Trade deficit this year could reach $150 billion. Some lawmakers Are painting a Nightmare scenario of $1 trillion in foreign debt by 1990, driving Many americans into poverty. Meanwhile the Al Cio estimates 3 million layoffs in . Industry due to import Competition since i960 and the Commerce department says 340.000 manufacturing jobs have been lost nationwide this year. Textile forces say they have lost 300,000 jobs in five years As imports have doubled. The . Bureau of labor statistics says layoffs caused by closings and slackening demand hit 80,000 workers in textile Mills and 132,000 in apparel plants Between january 1979 and january 1984. There is no firm agreement on what caused the Trade mess but Many economists Point to the bloated Dollar. The shrinking Dollar of the inflation Ridden 1970s has been restored in the 1980s to its status As the almighty Buck. The strength Al the Dollar is a result of Strong economic performance in this country the reputation of the United states As a Safe Haven Lor foreign Page 14 the stars and stripes investments and continued High interest rates the result of Federal budget deficits which have grown to More than $200 billion annually. The High value of the Dollar however Means imports Cost relatively less in the United states while american goods Cost comparatively More. Adding to the Trade imbalance Are wages in East Asia that Are sweatshop Low by . Standards. A chinese textile Mill hand can make As Little As 16 cents an hour. That Means Low import prices. The wage Factor has also sent some american corporations packing off to the Pacific Basin to Cash in on the cheap labor. Electronics executives blame dumping Export prices Cut below those in the Home Market Lor . Trade woes. The practice is banned by the general agreement on tariffs and Trade but it happens. Silicon Valley the High tech Mecca outside san Francisco was hit by heavy layoffs this year after a wave of japanese imports. Then came a smoking gun in the Trade War newspapers obtained a memo from Tokyo ordering japanese semiconductor salesmen to slash prices and keep slashing them at any Cost until american rivals were beaten. The semiconductor Industry is now seeking re Lei from the . International Trade commission. Another Factor often cited in the Trade deficit is the Quality of american goods. Auto Industry analysts note that japanese cars arriving in the Early 1970s were equipped with lightweight High compression aluminium Alloy engines with overhead cams and fuel injection models designed to go ashore anywhere in the world and bite into markets. Some rival versions sent out by Detroit were powered by cast Iron engines that bore striking resemblance to versions first developed in the 1950s. Detroit s product has improved substantially since then by most accounts. And Japan still has Only 20 percent of the . Auto Market. But the Commerce department estimates that share could hit 35 percent within five years. On Capitol Chi More popular place to Point the Finger is Japan s non Tariff or hidden Trade barriers american baseball bats banned As unsafe . Cigarette makers not allowed to advertise in japanese a Rule that California Orange juice must be mixed with a japanese Citrus product. High cube containers used by . Truckers there slightly larger than japanese crates Are confined to a handful of routes allowing them to move Only with an array of permits and then Only Between 11 . And 6 . Danforth chairman of the Senate finance committee s International Trade panel cites estimates that S.C. barriers represent 15 percent of this nation s $37 billion bilateral deficit with Japan. In june prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan held a nationally televised news conference promising Steps to ease or eliminate 1,500 barriers and urging viewers to buy foreign made products. I Call this Black tuesday Baucus said afterwards reflecting wide scepticism in Congress. A week later a japanese official briefing reporters conceded that Nakasone s was the seventh S.C. plan in five years. And now Nakasone s proposals Are on a Long trek through Japan s diet and Home Industry oriented Trade bureaucracy. Meanwhile japanese Success in the Trade marts hat-., spawned a Circle of imitators. South Korea Taiwan and Brazil Ere adopting the same methods to pile up Trade surpluses with the United states. The first korean Auto. Are due on . Shores next year. Two events in August turned up the heat. Rejecting a recommendation from the . International Trade commission. Reagan refused to impose quotas or tariffs to Aid the import battered " american shoe Industry. The same Day Danforth who As chairman of the Senate s top Trade panel had tried to steer a Middle course Between Protection and Law of the Jungle free Trade reversed course and co sponsored a Bill to Clamp on Tough shoe quotas. Missouri is dotted with shoe factories. Within weeks 8�n�. George Mitchell. A male and William Cohen a male chief sponsors of the shoe by had joined forces with Sens. Strom Thurmond r-s.c., am Ernest Hulings d-s.c., chief sponsors of the text be bal. The uprising had broadened. And for Good measure i Luggage quotas were thrown in. On aug. 3, in a Specw-4 election in the 1st congressional District of East Texas the Trade War came Home to the politicians. I Home to Many who suffered layoffs when Lone Star steel closed this year the 1 St District had Long Ben democratic bastion but now looked like it might swing � the gop. Republicans pumped in Money and manpower. But their candidate was quoted in pub she accounts As saying he could see no link Between the " calamity at Lone Star steel and foreign Trade. Meanwhile the democratic candidate promised to. Assign one staffer to work on Trade matters full