President Reagan warned the U.S.Congress in his weekly radio address against passing what he
called dangerous, protectionist trade legislation that would
tie his hands in trade negotiations with Japan and other
countries.
    Reagan, who will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone here this week, said he would lift tariffs
imposed last week against some Japanese products as soon as
Tokyo complied with a U.S.-Japanese pact on semiconductors.
    U.S. Officials gave the same message to former Japanese
Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe in meetings in Washington last
week.
    In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Reagan said he
would tell Nakasone: "We want to continue to work cooperatively
on trade problems and want very much to lift these trade
restrictions as soon as evidence permits.
    Reagan said the 100 pct tariffs he imposed on some 300 mln
dlrs worth of Japanese goods was a special case of trade
retaliation and did not signal a shift in what he called his
staunch anti-protectionist policies.
    "In imposing these tariffs we were just trying to deal with
a particular problem, not begin a trade war," he said.
    But Congress is ready to approve tough trade legislation to
try to turn round the record U.S. Trade deficit, which has cost
millions of U.S. Jobs and closed thousands of factories.
    A vote on a trade bill sponsored by Congressman Richard
Gephardt is expected to come during Nakasone"s visit. It would
penalise nations with large trade surpluses and which are
alleged to use unfair trade practices.
    Reagan warned Congress that such action would undercut his
ability to negotiate on trade issues with Nakasone and others.
    "With my meeting with Prime Minister Nakasone and the Venice
economic summit coming up, it"s terribly important not to
restrict a president"s options in such trade dealings with
foreign governments," he said.
    "Unfortunately, some in the Congress are trying to do
exactly that," he said.
    Reagan said he would keep the American people "informed on
this dangerous legislation because it"s just another form of
protectionism and I may need your help to stop it."
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