INTERNATIONAL

Gephardt Favors Tough Trade Bill: House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) called for passage of a trade bill that would retaliate against countries that curb operations of U.S. banks and other financial services companies. “Trade barriers have limited U.S. banking assets in the Japanese market to just $21 billion, while our policy of unconditional access has enabled the Japanese to amass banking assets in the United States of some $433 billion,” Gephardt told the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill would give U.S. officials authority to limit the expansion of foreign financial firms in the United States from countries that discriminate against U.S. institutions.