OECD AGREES EXPORT CREDIT REFORMS The western industrialised nations have agreed reforms in rules by which they provide credit for exports to developing countries, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said. The reforms tighten the rules for the use of foreign aid to subsidise export credits in so-called "mixed credits," the OECD said. The agreement, to be implemented in two stages in July this year and July 1988, means the minimum aid component in mixed credits will be raised to 35 pct from 25 pct, and to 50 pct for credits covering exports to the world's least developed nations. Additionally, a new formula will be used for calculating the aid element in mixed credits, to take account of different interest rates in the exporting countries, the 24-nation OECD, which hosted the reform negotiations, said. Minimum interest rates for officially subsidised trade loans have also been revised with the aim of cutting the subsidies, and ending them completely on loans to relatively rich developing countries by July next year. The reforms follow several years of pressure by the U.S. To stop competitors, notably France and Japan, using foreign aid to subsidise exports, putting U.S. Firms at a disadvantage. OECD officials said the agreement was based on a provisional accord reached in January subject to ratification by member governments. Some governments, including Austria, had linked their final approval to other trade credit issues which would be discussed at a meeting here in mid-April, they added. By raising the minimum amount of aid required in mixed credits the agreement aims to make such hidden subsidies too costly for frequent use. "A major loophole in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has been closed today," a senior U.S. Official here commented.