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Show What 7 world leaders decide next weekend could change your life WHEN A CORN countless jobs, espe- dally hurtful at a time g when we appear to be coming out of our worst I recession since World War II. It is no surprise, then, that international trade has turned into an explosive political issue both at home and between the U.S. and its allies. Every nation has grown increasingly protective of its own industrial and farm production, even though this very protectionism . threatens to further isolate each of them in an fanner in, say, Garden City, Kan., or a soybean farmer in McLean, 111., harvests his crop this fall, at least one of every three bushels will be shipped to Japan, Spain, the Soviet Union or elsewhere overseas. An engineer at the huge Boeing Company plant in Seattle knows that scores of the new 757 jetliners he helps build will soon fly under British, Brazilian or Costa Rican colors. A high-technolo- scientist in Californias Silicon Valley orout-sid- e economic will find that thousands of the computers he dream of helps develop will be sold in Italy, India or Argentina. And the coal miner in Kentuckys Harlan County, whether he knows it or not, owes his livelihood in large degree to Japanese and Latin Aladdin Industries. Inc.. Nashville, TN 37210 ft Century Onnxes tdenwtt FqrEn Cap of Ai fcqhnMpiwwd Fom Nm Corp vnoetn Cfrvury So critical is the trade issue that it is certain to dominate the proceedings next weekend at the annual economic summit, to be held this year in Colonial Williamsburg, Va. Amid American customers. Millions of American workers and farm- Jobless ranks may grow ers are producing more and more for export to consumers around the globe, and this has created a growing dependence of the United States on foreign markets and international trade. Now, however, American incomes and jobs are increasingly threatened by the unwillingness or inability of foreign countries to buy U.S. products and by the threat of trade wars that could suffocate international traue. Any significant reduction in exports could cost the U.S. billions of dollars as well as BY fortress, closed to the outside, seeking an impossible Boston, Mass., TAD televised pageantry. as free trade declines. President Reagan will play host to the leaders of West Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan, who face a crucial decision. Unless they agree on some firm measures to assure the survival of e practices, their nations are likely to drift closer toward protectionism and all the perils it implies. They must seek ways of correcting the huge currency distortions that undermine world trade the dollar, for example, is generally regarded as being too strong, the Japanese yen too cheap and try to resol ve the problem of free-trad- SZULC PAGE 18 MAT 22, 1983 PARADE MAGAZINE |