FOREIGN TRADE AGREEMENT

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27375, 14 June 1954, Page 9

FOREIGN TRADE AGREEMENT

President’s Power To

Negotiate

(Rec. 9 p.m.) WASHINGTON, June 12. The United States House of Representatives today voted a one-year extension of President Eisenhower’s power to negotiate trade agreements with foreign nations. The House passed and sent to the Senate a bill extending the power to June 12, 1955, in spite of Opposition claims that the programme as now operated is ruining basic American industries.

The existing law, one of several extensions of the 20-year-old Trade Agreements Programme, expires at midnight tomorrow. There was no likelihood that the Senate would act before the expiration deadline. But its failure to do so would not affect the trade programme. The only major agreemenfm the offing is with Japan, and months.will be required to work that out. An agreement with Japan would, under the present law, have to provide for tariff rates on Japanese imports not higher than the rates given other nations on similar imports. The House vote today was 281 to 53, Voting for the bill were 154 Democrats, 126 Republicans and one Independent. Opposed to it were 9 Republicans and 14 Democrats.

The House Democratic Leader (Mr Sam Rayburn, of Texas) chided the Republicans for not approving the full three-year programme with the new tariff-cutting powers originally requested by President Eisenhower. But he said that “in getting a third (of what the President asked), we are getting more out of the promises of the Administration on this thing than out of its promises on many other things.” The passage of the measure was assured after the House, by a vote of 273 to 63, barred all amendments. This closed the door on efforts to write new restrictions into the programme.