CANADIANS URGE EXEMPTION FROM U.S. TRADE BILL A group of Canadian lawmakers from Ontario today asked their U.S. counterparts to exempt Canada from the mandatory trade retaliation provisions in a major trade bill being considered by the U.S. Congress. At a meeting of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition, an organization of U.S. legislators, David Cooke, chairman of the Ontario Parliament's Select Committee on Economic Affairs, said the exemption would help trade relations. The trade legislation to be considered by the full House in late April would require President Reagan to retaliate against foreign unfair trade practices unless the trade actions would harm the U.S. economy. Currently, Reagan can reject trade sanctions on any grounds. Cooke, a member of the Liberal party, told the U.S. congressmen, "I can understand (the trade bill). I think it has to do with concerns you have with the other parts of the world." "I would suggest to you that we are your best friends. You do not have those concerns with Canada and you should sincerely consider exempting our country from that bill," he added. Canada is the United States' largest trading partner, with two-way trade more than 113 billion dlrs in 1985, according to the coalition. But the U.S. ran up a 23 billion dlr deficit in manufactured goods that year compared to a 14 billion dlr surplus in services trade with its neighbour.