Reagan Vetoes Textile Bill, Faces Override Vote Test

President Reagan, as promised, today vetoed legislation tightening curbs on textile, apparel and shoe imports. He said the bill would have “disastrous effects” on the U.S. economy.

Reagan’s action set the stage for a congressional override vote next week. One prime backer estimated he was within eight votes of the two-thirds majority needed to overrule the President.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Reagan vetoed the bill as soon as it arrived from Capitol Hill.

“We vetoed it as soon as we got it,” Fitzwater said.

The bill, intended to protect American industries against foreign competition, won final congressional approval last Friday, but without a two-thirds margin.

Reagan, in a statement released by the White House, charged that the measure “would have disastrous effects on the U.S. economy.”

“It would impose needless costs on American consumers, threaten jobs in our export industries, jeopardize our overseas farm sales and undermine our efforts to obtain a more open trading system for U.S. exports,” the President said. “This bill represents protectionism at its worst. At a time when American exports are booming, the United States must not embark on a course that would diminish our trade opportunities.”

Asked about possible repercussions of the veto on Vice President George Bush’s election effort in the South, where even some staunch Republicans had backed the bill, Fitzwater replied, “It’s our belief that, politics aside . . . protectionism is the issue here.”

But a chief Senate sponsor of the bill, Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), issued a statement saying, “We gave President Reagan exactly what he asked for.

“Seven years ago, the European Community globalized its quotas and President Reagan recommended we globalize our quotas. We did what the President wanted. This is political demagoguery at its worst.”

The bill calls for freezing textile and apparel imports at 1987 levels this year and limiting growth to 1% annually starting in January.

It would also freeze imports of non-rubber footwear with no provision for increases and impose import quotas on 180 categories of textile products and 30 types of footwear.

Rep. Butler Derrick (D-S.C.) said he hoped to vote on the veto next Tuesday. He said backers were “seven or eight votes off right now and we hope to wangle those by then.”