U.S. HOUSE PANEL APPROVES TRADE BILL The U.S. House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee unanimously approved a toned-down version of legislation designed to toughen U.S. trade laws and wedge open foreign markets to more U.S. goods. The measure now goes to the full House Ways and Means Committee next week, but major changes are not expected, congressional sources said. "This product could very well be toughening our trade policy and doing it in a manner that opens markets without this frightening word 'protectionism'," Ways and Means chairman Dan Rostenkowski, an Illinois Democrat said. The trade subcommittee backed away from mandating specific retaliation against foreign countries for unfair foreign trade practices as the House had approved in a trade bill last year. But it held over for the full Ways and Means Committee debate on a controversial plan by Rep. Richard Gephardt to mandate a reduction in trade surpluses with the U.S. by countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, has not decided the exact form of his amendment, an aide said. Last year the House approved his idea to force an annual 10 pct trade surplus cut by those countries.