Quayle Remarks Spark European Alarm on Trade vs. Security

Vice President Dan Quayle arrived here Monday, refusing to comment on the alarm he and a contingent of American politicians created with weekend remarks in Germany that seemingly linked a continued U.S. presence in NATO with Washington’s trade dispute with Europe over agriculture subsidies.

While Quayle appeared to play down the remarks during a stop in Geneva, “tomorrow” was all he would say as he and his wife Marilyn began a two-day visit here as part of his European tour.

Newspaper stories and editorials here expressed anger over remarks by Quayle and U.S. senators attending the 29th Munich Conference on Security Policy, where they urged Europeans to strive for agreement with the United States on GATT, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Quayle told the audience: “GATT is absolutely critical to the security of Europe, to the security of the United States and the security of Asia.” And he added: “Trade is a security issue. . . . Effective national and international security does have to have coordination between political, military and economic security.”

His warning, thought to have been approved by the White House, was backed up by statements from the senators, including William S. Cohen of Maine.

Cohen, a Republican, said the general American view is that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is “no longer necessary, relevant or affordable” and predicted that NATO will become a “mainly European organization.” Many Americans, he said, “would like to retreat into a continental cocoon and zip out the rest of the world.”

R. James Woolsey, a U.S. arms negotiator, told the conference that America’s commitment to NATO is threatened by subsidies for the European aircraft industry and attempts to limit the export of American films to Europe.

In Geneva, Quayle said the United States will counter the support programs of other nations with its own measures.

But Reuters news service reported that he told a news conference there is no linkage between the long-running GATT talks and U.S. troop levels in Europe.

“The United States will certainly meet any subsidies with an in-kind response, but it doesn’t serve the United States, it doesn’t serve Europe, it doesn’t serve anybody,” he said.