Hearings on Foreign Trade Act Resume for 3 Weeks Beginning March 21

The Senate Finance Committee, after hearing the Administration’s views for four days on the House-approved Foreign Trade Act which embodies measures regarding Soviet emigration, will hear public witnesses for three weeks beginning March 21. Most of them are understood to be representatives of commerce and industry. But the Mills-Vanik-Jackson measures are expected to be aired, too.

The Senate committee will recess for the spring holiday after the testimony from public witnesses and begin its deliberations on the Act early in April. A committee source indicated to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it was unlikely the committee will make its presentment to the Senate prior to late spring. It possibly may even be later than that, for the Senate leadership is understood to want the committee to handle the energy tax bill on a priority basis and give it precedence over the trade legislation.

Although the majority of the 18-member committee favors the Jackson Amendment, which has 78 Senate sponsors, JTA was informed that in view of Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger’s warning to the committee that he would recommend to President Nixon that he veto the measure rather than accept the Jackson-Mills-Vanik section, a vote on the J/M-V proposals may not take place.

“Everybody may agree on a different version,” a committee source said to JTA. “You do have political realities, too. It may yet well be that co-sponsors may hope something can be worked out that Kissinger can live with. But neither will the committee work out something that Jackson won’t accept. So right now nobody knows how it will emerge.” Senate Finance Committee chairman Russell Long (D.La.) had told JTA when he opened the hearings that something like J/M-V will be in the trade bill.