Inside Report (4)

The Reagan administration is trying to send different signals on the Soviet grain embargo -- depending on who's receiving. Reagan replied to last week's Senate resolution for an end to the embargo by saying, in effect: I would if I could, but I can't.

This month, however, American officials and gain traders must try to explain to regular customers South Korea, Japan, and China that the embargo doesn't mean the US has become an unreliable supplier and that they don't need to buy grain elsewhere.

That may not be easy. The Asians are sending signals of their own: i.e., that they're worried. The embargo has lasted 15 months, and even if it were halted tomorrow the US officials admit their sales job woul d remain difficult.m