There's been a furious response from Europe to a United States decision to impose sanctions on some European imports, in a row over whether there's a fair trade in bananas.

Britain has made a formal protest; the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has promised to protect jobs if exports to the United States are hit.

There have also been protests from Spain and Italy, which called Washington's move illegal.

The European Union has demanded urgent talks with the World Trade Organisation, which has yet to rule on an American request to impose one-hundred-percent import tariffs on a list of European goods.

The Americans say importers must pay deposits equivalent to the new tariffs. Washington says the European Union's special terms for banana exporters in former European colonies discriminate against American banana growers.