Trade: Pasta War Ready to Boil

When people fight about spaghetti, the issue is usually whose mother makes the best sauce. Last week a dispute over pasta was simmering on an international scale. In an attempt to protect U.S. noodlemakers, President Reagan slapped a large tariff increase on European manufacturers. The tariff will rise from about one-tenth of a cent to some 10 cents per lb. on the price of noodles made with eggs and from one-eighth of a cent to 10 cents for eggless pasta.

The Administration action is aimed primarily at Italy, whose exports to the U.S. have zoomed from 10 million lbs. in 1975 to 110 million lbs. last year. At that rate, the U.S. industry contends, Italian pasta could account for 20% of the $1.3 billion U.S. market by 1988 or 1989. American manufacturers claim that European pastamakers compete unfairly in this country because they receive export subsidies from their governments.

The pasta tariff is intended as a way to retaliate for Europe's treatment of U.S. citrus exports. The Administration claims that the European Community discriminates against American lemons and oranges by offering more favorable tariffs on fruit from Mediterranean countries, including Algeria and Israel.