House Panel OKs Cutback in Textile Imports

Defying veto warnings, the House Ways and Means Committee today approved a large rollback in textile imports, the storm center of the congressional debate over trade.

“This industry is on the verge of going under if something is not done,” Rep. Ed Jenkins (D-Ga.), the measure’s sponsor, declared as the panel approved it on a voice vote.

“It is simply unfair that this country takes sole burden of absorbing the excess (of textile imports) of the world. It has to be shared,” he said.

The textile bill barely escaped being gutted when an amendment offered by Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) failed by one vote, 17 to 18. It would have required tightening quotas by bilateral treaty rather than legislation.

Trade Problems Increasing

Supporters say the bill is needed to cope with the nation’s mushrooming trade problems.

An early floor vote on the textile measure, strongly opposed by the Reagan Administration, appeared likely after today’s committee approval.

The bill is favored by U.S. textile and apparel makers as well as two major labor unions. Lobbyists lined the halls last week as the measure won approval from the committee’s trade panel in a closed-door session.

Anti-protectionist business forces, as well as the Reagan Administration, have been campaigning against the measure, which would roll back imports 25% to more than 40% in areas ranging from raw silk to stuffed animals. The White House has threatened a veto.

Heavily Supported

The measure has 292 House co-sponsors, and there were early predictions that such heavy support was a guarantee of passage once it reached the floor.

In recent days, however, signs of waning enthusiasm have surfaced. Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) has spoken of bringing the measure to the floor under special handling that would assure an early vote--with amendments ruled out. However, such a move also would require two-thirds of the House, or 290 votes, for passage.

And other industries have been looking at the textile bill as a vehicle to protect them from foreign competition.

Maine Sens. William S. Cohen and George J. Mitchell, major supporters of the import-battered shoe industry, reached agreement last week with South Carolina Sens. Strom Thurmond and Ernest F. Hollings, co-sponsors of the Senate textile measure, to combine forces.