Business Notes TRADE

The White House and Congress are locked in another major battle over protectionism. Last week the Senate passed, by a vote of 57 to 32, a bill to grant import relief to the textile industry. Since eleven Senators did not vote on the measure, it remains uncertain whether the bill's supporters can muster the 67 votes needed in the Senate to override a promised presidential veto. The bill, similar to one that has already passed the House, would cap increases of foreign textile and apparel imports at 1% a year. They have been rising by an average of 16% annually since 1980.

The textile industry, which has lost 55% of its market to imports, has put pressure on Congress to do something. Concern runs highest in the South, where economies depend on the business. In South Carolina, for example, textiles and apparel account for 48% of all manufacturing jobs.

But the Reagan Administration argues that the textile industry is already among the most protected in the U.S. The average tariff on textiles and apparel is 18%, nearly three times the rate on other manufactured products. U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter calculates that the typical American family pays $238 a year more for clothing than it would if the textile business were not protected. Any new round of import relief will raise prices even more.