Gephardt Plans to Call for Japan-Style Trade Agency

House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, who made trade a major issue as a Democratic presidential candidate in 1988, is preparing to introduce another controversial trade bill to help prod the Bush Administration to get tougher on trade.

Gephardt (D-Mo.) is expected to announce formally today a proposal to create a far-reaching Department of International Trade and Industry--modeled on the powerful trade ministry maintained by the government of Japan--to replace the Commerce Department.

The legislation would also set up a new civilian agency in the United States to provide federal seed money to help high-technology industries compete in international markets. The Pentagon already operates a similar program for defense-related projects.

Although the measure is far less sweeping than the import-limiting measure that Gephardt proposed in 1986, the new legislation is designed to serve the same political purpose--to help pressure the Administration to become more activist on foreign trade.

Gephardt and Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica), who is a co-sponsor of the legislation, have been critical of the White House for the Administration’s recent move to complete an accord with Japan for co-production of the FSX, an advanced fighter aircraft.

They also have chided Bush for backing away from a proposal by Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher to provide some aid to potential manufacturers of high-definition television equipment to help the United States break into the world market.

Just the same, it was not clear late Tuesday how far the measure might get. Although Gephardt is expected to push it as majority leader, the Bush Administration is considered certain to oppose the bill, and many Democrats are expected to follow suit.

A similar effort to create a Japanese-style Department of International Trade and Industry was defeated in 1985 after having been promoted by then-Secretary of Commerce Malcolm A. Baldrige. The Baldrige bill was opposed by William E. Brock, then the U.S. trade representative.

More Protectionist

Like the Baldrige proposal, Gephardt’s plan would replace the Commerce Department with the new Department of International Trade and Industry. Some Commerce agencies not included in the new department would be parceled out to other departments. But the trade representative’s office, which currently fills the role of the United States’ trade ministry, would be folded into the new agency.

Critics warned during the fight over the Baldrige plan that creating a Department of International Trade and Industry would make U.S. trade policy more protectionist because the new agency would be inherently more nationalistic than the current structure provides.

The idea behind creation of the trade representative’s office in 1962 was to establish an agency that could serve as a so-called honest broker to take account of the often-conflicting views of the Treasury, Commerce, State and Defense departments in fashioning broad U.S. trade policy.

Besides the new trade department and high-tech agencies, the Gephardt bill would also make other changes designed to bring about a “tougher” U.S. trade policy. It would place the secretary of the Treasury and the secretary of international trade and industry on the President’s National Security Council.

And it would create a new post of assistant to the President for science and technology.