Reagan Trade Plan May Seek Aid for Exports

The Reagan Administration, searching for ways to maintain the initiative on trade, is considering asking Congress for $300 million to help subsidize exports by U.S. manufacturers, officials said today.

The proposed request for additional funds for the Export Import Bank, a program President Reagan earlier this year sought to scuttle, is part of a package of additional trade measures being assembled by top Reagan advisers, said Administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The trade package, expected to be sent to Reagan’s desk for his scrutiny within the next few days, will also include a variety of other measures designed to demonstrate a new aggressiveness on the part of the Administration on trade, the officials said.

The Administration is determined to show a high level of activity on trade in the coming days to try to head off congressional passage of protectionist legislation, the sources said.

Although some of the proposals have been floated within the Administration before, this would be the first time that the various measures would be put together as part of an overall, emerging policy on international trade.

Designed for Leverage

“Most of these things are designed to provide leverage to get trading partners to the bargaining table,” one official said.

In his radio address Saturday, Reagan announced that he was taking actions against Japan, South Korea, Brazil and the European Economic Community in an effort to try to open markets in those nations to selected U.S. products now subject to restraints.

“There may be a lot more of these cases--maybe a new one announced each week--all to try to show Congress that the Administration is on the job and not asleep,” a Senate Republican leadership source said.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) gave faint praise today to Reagan’s actions over the weekend. “The positive part is that the President has recognized that trade is a visible matter of concern,” Dole told reporters.

Asked if Reagan’s actions were enough to defuse the anger in Congress over trade, Dole replied: “No, it’s not enough.”