Common Mart Retaliates on Quotas

BRUSSELS —  The European Commission today proposed to invoke trade restrictions and monitor U.S. farm exports in retaliation to the U.S. plan to limit imports from Europe, it was announced.

Willy De Clercq, European Commissioner for external relations, said the European Economic Community “has no option but to reply (to the U.S. move) with equal measures.”

The commission said today it will ask member states to authorize it to invoke trade restrictions against the United States if quotas announced by the Reagan Administration begin to cause actual damage to European exports.

The commission also will ask for authorization to monitor imports of a group of U.S. goods, mostly farm products.

The monitoring, known as retrospective surveillance, is similar to a procedure used by the U.S. government to monitor EC exports, the commission said.

De Clercq, deploring the Reagan Administration’s decision, said: “It is getting us into a pointless escalation of trade measures which the community has not provoked.”

De Clercq told the European Parliament the quotas announced by President Reagan on Thursday were totally unjustified and would meet with a firm response from the Common Market.

The United States imposed non-restrictive quotas on white wine, beer, candy, chocolate, apple and pear juice from EEC countries in retaliation for curbs on American grains and oil seed exports to Spain and Portugal after they joined the Common Market Jan. 1. (Story, Page 4.)

“I deplore the decision taken by President Reagan,” De Clercq said. “It is all the more regrettable that this escalation comes at a time we are trying to launch a new round of negotiations to liberalize trade.”

De Clercq also disputed Washington’s claims that the consequences of Spain and Portugal’s admission to the community will cost U.S. farmers about $1 billion. “I don’t know from what hat they pulled out this figure,” he said.