U.S. DELEGATION HOPES FOR VEG OILS TAX DEFEAT American soybean producers and processors are hoping the proposed EC tax on vegetable oils and fats will not be imposed, but say the U.S. Is prepared to retaliate if it is introduced. Wayne Bennett, the American Soybean Association's first vice president, told a news conference the U.S. Administration would not hesitate to retaliate, but both producers and processors were trying to solve the issue through negotiation. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Richard Lyng said in a letter to EC officials that U.S. Retaliatory measures would cover more than agricultural products if the tax was imposed, Bennett said. The ASA and National Soybean Processors Association (NSPA) delegations will meet top West German government officials today and tomorrow to lobby for support. Bennett said West Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal oppose the tax, but Italy and Belgium seem to have taken a hardline view on the issue. "Europeans in favour of the tax say it would be to their advantage economically, but that is not correct because we would hit back," NSPA chairman Jack Reed said. This step would be very expensive for all and no one would emerge as a winner if the tax were introduced, he said. Reed pointed out the U.S. Administration and the soybean industry view the EC proposal as violating the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The proposed tax also violates the zero duty bindings agreed between the EC and U.S. In 1962, he said. Under the zero duty bindings pact U.S. Soybeans and products can be exported to the Community duty-free.