Trade Warrior

Clinton plans to play tough with foreign competitors, and a proudly undiplomatic lobbyist is primed to be his enforcer -- even if the French stomp their little feet

He wears pinstripe suits with suspenders and is addressed as "Mr. Ambassador." But Mickey Kantor is no diplomat. Take, for example, the way he described French negotiators who have fought to retain barriers to American farm exports: they have "held their breath and stomped their little feet," he said in an interview last week. Publicly, he has threatened retaliation against half a dozen "unfair" trade practices by the Europeans, the Japanese and others. And in response to foreign officials who sputter about his "bullying" tactics, he says with a tight smile and easy Tennessee drawl, "I think our message is getting...

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