1.   American trade officials said that they did not want to hurt Caribbean banana producers and that there were ways to protect them like subsidies to bring down banana prices.

2.   Caribbean banana producers are stepping up their efforts to hold on to the European market, which buys its entire crop.

3.   Caribbean banana producers need the European Union to maintain its protective tariffs for their economic and social survival, the Caribbean Banana Exporters Association said.

4.   He cited the recent ruling by the World Trade Organization against preferences given to Caribbean bananas by European countries as being particularly destructive.

5.   That is particularly important as the World Trade Organization is currently considering whether the European Union should dismantle its century-old trade preferences on Caribbean bananas.

6.   The principal Caribbean banana exporters to the European Union are Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia, and the Windward Islands.

7.   The principal Caribbean banana exporters to the European Union are Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia and the Windward Islands.

8.   The United States also has fought European preferences for Caribbean bananas.

9.   The U.S. wants the EU to alter a system of quotas and import and export licensing schemes for Latin American and Caribbean banana producers.

10.   The WTO is expected to rule sometime this fall on whether EU quotas for Caribbean bananas violate WTO agreements.