U.S. Economic Council Rejects Japanese Plea

President Reagan’s Economic Policy Council, headed by Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III, rejected last-minute Japanese appeals today and cleared the way for tariffs on $300 million in electronics products from Japan.

The tariffs of up to 100% will be imposed by presidential proclamation on Friday and will last until Japanese compliance with a 1986 pact on computer chip trade can be documented, said officials who spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

A process will be established for lifting the sanctions once the Administration is satisfied that Japan is making a good-faith effort to live up to the accord, the sources said.

One official predicted the sanctions would likely remain on for at least three months.

The items to be hit with the tariffs will be spelled out in the proclamation, said the officials.

An initial list of targeted items contained dozens of products, including Japanese-made television sets, pocket calculators and computer disks. However, the Administration was narrowing that list down following two days of public hearings earlier this week.

The duties are in retaliation for what the United States contends is Japanese refusal to stop “dumping” low-cost computer memory chips in markets outside the United States and to give U.S. semiconductor manufacturers more access to Japanese markets.

Although U.S. officials have said all along that the decision to impose the tariffs was not likely to be rescinded, today’s Cabinet-level action makes the trade retaliation formal--barring an unexpected change-of-mind by the President himself.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government reiterated its denial of having violated the semiconductor agreement.