A House subcommittee voted to givePresident Reagan authority to block foreign takeovers of U.S.
companies similar to the takeover of Schlumberger Ltd's &lt;SLB>
Fairchild Semiconductor Corp by Fujitsu Ltd which was
withdrawn.
    The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce
approved as an amendment to the overall House trade bill a
provision giving Reagan the power to block sales to foreign
companies if the sale was not in the national or economic
interest.                
    The takeover provision was sent to the full Energy and
Commerce Committee for consideration as part of the overall
trade bill which is being written by several House committees.
    The subcommittee's bill would bar imports of digital audio
recording equipment that is not made with anti-copying chips.
This provision is designed to protect U.S. companies from the
unauthorized use of U.S. designs in foreign products.
    The bill calls for an investigation of whether U.S.
engineering and construction firms are given adequate
opportunity to bid on Japan's civil works procurement practices
including the construction of the Kansai airport.
    The Energy and Commerce subcommitte rejected a plan offered
by Rep. William Dannemeyer, a California Republican, to require
the U.S. to pay investors one pct for the right to hold their
gold investments in government storage.
    His amendment called for the government to sell gold coins
and gold-backed bonds with maturities of 30 to 50 years to
investors to reduce the federal debt.               
 Reuter
