Congress Changes Export Tax Credit; Clinton Expected To Sign

The U.S. House and Senate, in a rare post-election "lame-duck" session, wont take up most meaningful legislation until Dec. 5. But this week the lawmakers repealed the Foreign Sales Corp. (FSC) tax break for U.S. exporters that ran afoul of international trade rules and created an export-tax-credit scheme that apparently does comply. President Clinton, currently on a trip to southeast Asia, has pledged to sign the measure. As a result, the 15-nation European Union, which challenged the FSC before the World Trade Organization, will not begin the process of imposing sanctions on $4 billion worth of U.S. exports Nov. 17.