House Passes Tighter Curbs on Textile, Shoe Imports 248-150 : Vote Not Enough to Turn Aside Veto by Reagan

The House today approved and sent to President Reagan tightened curbs on textile, apparel and shoe imports, inviting a pre-election trade clash with the Administration but falling short of a veto-proof margin.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that half of the flags we are pledging allegiance to were made in Asian rim countries--that is about the amount of the textiles and apparel we have lost,” said Rep. Butler Derrick (D-S.C.) as the House approved the measure 248 to 150.

Steeped in warnings against new trade protectionism, however, the House balked at providing the two-thirds support that is needed to override a presidential veto in the House, which has 435 seats, three of them vacant.

1% Annual Rise

The bill, designed to protect American industry against foreign competition, would freeze textile and apparel imports at 1987 levels this year and limit growth to 1% annually starting in January. It would freeze non-rubber footwear imports with no provision for increases.

The measure would impose import quotas on 180 categories of textile products and 30 types of footwear, a system that would be reviewed after 10 years. The bill would set up a one-year program under which the government would auction off import licenses and set a special quota for silk neckties.

The House approved a similar version of the bill 263 to 156 on Sept. 16, 1987. In its action today, it merely gave its consent to changes wrought by the Senate and sent the bill to Reagan’s desk.

‘Veto Next Week’

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater set the stage and much of the tone for the debate on Thursday when he told reporters that Reagan “wouldn’t veto it until next week.”

The textile and apparel industries as well as a number of labor unions and congressional sponsors say the bill is needed to halt the drain of more than 400,000 jobs in the 1980s when a surge of imports hit the U.S. market. They concede that industry earnings have recovered but add that profits dropped again this year and that domestic plants are still closing.

“If we are to stop the total destruction of basic industries in this country, at some point this House . . . must act,” said Rep. Ed Jenkins (D-Ga.), a chief sponsor.

Critics Fear Retaliation

Such claims have provoked broad scoffing from critics, including the Reagan Administration, importers, retailers and industries that fear new trade barriers will unleash retaliation overseas against the products they export. They say the textile and apparel industries are flourishing largely as a result of automation installed in the plants to combat import competition.

Rep. Bill Frenzel (R-Minn.) declared that consumers are paying a hefty price now for import curbs already granted to the industries.

“It’s a simple case of the greed of an industry that can never get enough,” Frenzel said. “This fun-loving, neighborhood industry wants to nail us for another $25 billion . . . this is the level playing field the textile industry is asking us for.”

Critics also said the bill would run counter to the broad-scale trade bill that Reagan already signed into law this summer.