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...