Cuba has not cut back on tobacco exports, which are an important source of income.

"There are now daily fuel queues, tobacco exports have deteriorated and Malawi is off-track with its IMF programme," said DfID.

America was founded on tobacco exports.

LEAD: The United States is threatening trade sanctions against third-world nations that try to keep out United States tobacco exports, an antismoking conference was told today.

"Without tobacco exports, America's trade deficit would have been $3.7 billion worse last year," you state in presenting the industry arguments.

American tobacco exports earn an additional $6 billion a year.

The first tobacco export took place in 1492, when Columbus took souvenir tobacco leaves to Queen Isabella.

Although the value of tobacco exports continued to rise, they decreased as a proportion of the total after 1935 because of the increased importance of tea.

Burley leaf from Malawi makes up 6.6 percent of the worlds tobacco exports and accounts for over 70 percent of Malawi's foreign earnings.

Without tobacco exports, America's trade deficit would have been $3.7 billion worse last year.