European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday april 4, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 7 . Threatens to restrict imports from Washington up the Reagan administration moving a step closer to a Trade War with Europe announced wednesday it will retaliate against recent Trade restrictions unless the european economic Community agrees to negotiate. Making Good on president Reagan s threats earlier this week the office of the . Trade representative said it would restrict imports of wine cheese Mineral water and other foods in response to the new Trade sanctions that could potentially affect $1 billion Worth of american farm products. Unless the Community rescinds its illegal quotas and promptly provides compensation for its increased tariffs the United states will offset the new restrictions by establishing quotas and increasing tariffs on european Community products entering our Market White House spokesman Larry Speakes said monday. The imposed the new tariffs and quotas when Spain and Portugal joined the Community earlier this year boosting its membership to a dozen nations. In response to the s decision to impose quotas on Portugal s imports of soybeans the United states announced wednesday it will limit its imports of All euro Pean White wine to match the Dollar value reduction in . Soybean exports. Currently the United states ships about $90 billion of soybeans to Portugal each year. In response to the s new requirement that at least 15.5 percent of portuguese Grain imports must come from common Market sources the United states is considering imposing import duties on european apples Candy fruit juice Beer ale and biscuits to compensate for the $55 million it expects to lose in grains  Portugal this year. In both cases the United states will respond immediately since it considers the european actions were illegal under the general agreement on tariffs and Trade the agreement that sets International Trade rules and Are not negotiable. In addition the administration plans to strike Back against Spain s decision to increase its tariffs on Corn and sorghum from 20 percent to 100 percent. American exports of those products total about $624 million a year. Consequently the United states beginning july 1, will consider limiting its imports of european products by a similar Dollar amount. Possible targets include meat cheese leather olives vegetables Mineral water wines Brandy cordials Gin whiskey and hops. Although the Spanish Tariff increase was not illegal under Gatt rules the administration thinks it was ill advised. Consequently it will conduct a Public hearing on the proposed retaliatory Steps on april 21 at the Trade representative s office in Washington. Italy asks exporters of certify wine s safety Washington a the italian government has asked its wine exporters to certify that the wine they have shipped to the United states and other countries contained less of the Poison methanol than is permitted by italian Law the italian embassy announced wednesday. The statement distributed to reporters did not say if any of the wine exporters has complied. Massimo Bai Strocchi the embassy s press Counselor said the request was sent out recently. In the last two weeks at least 14 people have died in Italy from the poisoned wine and at least five were said to have been hospitalized Over the weekend. The italian embassy in Washington d.c., wishes to inform the american wine Consumers that there should be no concern regarding the consumption of italian wines available in the United states following recent reports in the press pertaining to the poisoning which occurred in a few cases in Northern Italy due to the ingestion of wine containing methanol the embassy statement said. It added that the poisoned wine came from the company Odore i incise Scapaccino in the Asti Region of Northern Italy and has never been shipped to the United states. Some of the wine was sent to Switz Erland but tests on samples of those wines showed they were not contaminated with methanol or Wood alcohol according to the embassy. Officials of the firm and some of their suppliers have been jailed. Extremely rigorous tests were said to be under Way on wine from a different area the Southern province of Apulia Fol lowing reports of High amounts of methanol in wine produced there and used for blend ing. The embassy did not say whether any of this wine was exported. The testing is a Long term process Bai Strocchi said in a Telephone interview. The embassy said that All future exports of italian wine to the United states and other countries will have to be accompanied by a certificate showing the proportion of methanol and a statement that it is below the limit permitted by italian Law. Back on the mighty Mississippi a photo the Mississippi Queen moves out of new Orleans in its first major cruise since the Stern Wheeler had a collision with a towboat in december. Water had flooded part of a lower  through a 13-foot Gash in the Hull after the Accident and the big paddle Wheeler was intentionally grounded on a Sandbar 80 Miles upriver from new Orleans to keep it from sinking. A 431 people aboard were safely rescued. Soft Sand saves run Over sunbathe Tierra verde Fla. A a woman leaving a Beach with her children backed her car Over a sunbathe s head and stopped it on his Chest but the soft Sand saved the Man s life police say. Thomas Demartino 36, was listed in stable condition wednesday at Bayfront medical Center. Hospital officials said he had bruises on his head and neck. The car s wheel rolled Over his head and stopped on his Chest said St. Petersburg police officer Pete Foreman. You can still see the tire Marks. The wheel pushed his head into the Sand. If it was t for the Sand he might not have made  Foreman said Demartino a lawyer was sunbathing with his wife tuesday at a narrow stretch of Sandy Beach along a Road near his Home. Carol Rhodes of fort Wayne ind., had loaded her four children into the family s Toyota Caffry which was packed with Luggage for their two week vacation. She was backing up to turn the car toward the Highway. I did t see him lying there. None of us saw anything i swear said Rhodes. She has been charged with careless driving police said. Foreman said Demartino started to scream when the left rear wheel rolled Over his head and witnesses said the Driver then stopped the car. She was just Frozen there with All the kids in the Back said Beac goer Jeff Geldart 25. Geldart said he pulled everyone from the car tossed out the Luggage to lighten the Load and with help of four other men lifted the car from Demartino. Demartino s Back was burned where the Muffler was pressing against it and his neck was All twisted he said. Some alcoholics May test positive for aids virus Boston up some alcoholics suf Fering from liver disease May test positively for exposure to aids virus even if they do not have the deadly virus and Are not Mem Bers of High risk groups a doctor said wednesday. Alcoholics suffering from liver disease brought on by their drinking tend to have malfunctioning immune systems that some times produce unusually High Levels of anti bodies said or. Charles l. Mendenhall of the veterans administration medical Cen Ter in Cincinnati. He speculated the aids virus screening test mistook those antibodies for antibodies to the aids virus Htlv-3. The test is not foolproof Mendenhall said. People should be aware of  of 95 alcoholics suffering from liver Dis ease screened with a commonly used test that detects antibodies to the aids virus in the blood 13 tested positively Mendenhall said. None were homosexuals illicit Intra venous drug users or members of other groups at High risk for aids. When the 13 patients with positive re sults underwent further screening with a. Second procedure known As the Western blot test they All tested negatively said Mendenhall who outlined his findings in a letter to the new England journal of Medicine. Although the aids screening test is known to produce false positives the error rate is usually much lower he said. For example of 20 patients Mendenhall also tested who were not alcoholics no positives showed up he said. The screening test is used widely at blood centers to prevent carriers of acquired immune deficiency syndrome from spreading the disease through their donated blood. I m sure some patients Are being turned away because of false positives said Mendenhall. You have to be very careful when you re looking at alcoholics with liver disease not to Calu hem aids patients said Menden Hall. There s a socioeconomic stigma attached to  Mendenhall said he contacted Abbott laboratories in Chicago one of several manufacturers of the screening test to notify the company of his findings. Company officials agreed the results should be publicized to Alert test users he said