JAPANESE PURCHASE OF U.S. HIGH-TECH FIRM OPPOSED Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige has asked the White House to consider blocking the planned Japanese acquisition of a major U.S. Computer and semiconductor maker, U.S. Officials said yesterday. The officials told reporters Baldrige had serious concerns on national security grounds about the sale of Schlumberger Ltd <SLB> unit <Fairchild Semiconductor Inc> to Fujitsu Ltd <ITSU.T>. The officials said the sale could leave the United States overly dependent on a foreign company for equipment used in advanced missiles, aircraft electronics and intelligence gathering. The U.S. Officials added the sale would also worsen the strained relations between the two countries stemming from the huge Japanese trade surplus. The White House Economic Policy Council would consider the sale in the coming weeks, they said. Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger's position was not known, but in the past, he has opposed the transfer of high technology to foreign governments or companies. Computers made by U.S. Manufacturers are widely used in the world, but Tokyo told U.S. Negotiators recently it prefers local manufacturers and would not buy U.S. Supercomputers.