1.   Mr Slough said trade officials were slow to adopt new export procedures which came into force in January.

2.   Also, Mexican and U.S. trade officials agreed to meet monthly to monitor the issue.

3.   Also of concern to trade officials is an effort in the House measure to lift some of the restrictions on how much money each farmer can receive.

4.   American trade officials said such fears are overblown.

5.   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.

6.   American trade officials have consistently fought for the reforms Nader and Buchanan now attack.

7.   American and Japanese trade officials have said the lack of strong political leadership makes it more difficult to strike deals on government procurement issues.

8.   American trade officials say a few steps have been taken to help Pakistan.

9.   An overall agreement should be signed in the next few days, trade officials said.