The Nation - News from March 23, 1988

House conferees, locked in a marathon negotiation with the Senate on the omnibus trade bill, decided to delay action on the bill’s most controversial provision, the Gephardt amendment, until other key differences are resolved. The conferees are trying to work out differences between a House bill that is relatively rigid in defining unfair trade practices by other nations, and a Senate bill that, while more lenient on that count, would allow the Administration less latitude in how to respond to the practices. Action on the Gephardt amendment, which calls for retaliation against nations with large trade surpluses with the United States, is not likely before next week.