Bid to Give President Power to Bar Foreign Takeovers Advances

The Reagan Administration and congressional trade negotiators have agreed on a proposal giving the President power to block certain foreign takeovers of U.S. companies, congressional sources said today.

The provision, to be included as an amendment to a massive omnibus trade bill now under negotiation by the House and Senate, would block deals seen as a national security threat.

In exchange for this, Congress would drop a measure requiring foreign investors to register significant holdings in American firms.

The White House strongly opposes the foreign investment registry as a deterrent to needed inflows of foreign capital. But it would accept inclusion of authority over foreign takeovers because it leaves the President wide discretion to decide which deals are a threat to national security.