France was once one of Iraq's largest trading partners, and its main Western supplier of arms during its war with Iran in the 1980's.

While largely restricting themselves to selling nonlethal equipment, Western suppliers sometimes engage in heated competition to sell to Angola.

American Standard must still rely heavily on Western suppliers, for lack of competitive local businesses.

The rumors about foreign payments have arisen as India looks increasingly to Western military suppliers after years of depending on the Soviet Union.

Some Soviet companies are having difficulty making payments on contracts with Western suppliers, West German bankers and business executives say.

The Soviets have lately been selling commodities, including gold, to wipe out more than $2 billion of unpaid bills from Western suppliers.

To enter the Chinese market, Western suppliers had to show that their equipment was compatible with Chinese-made products.

It has, thanks mostly to eager Western suppliers, the Arab world's one credible modern weapons industry.

Probably they will become more dependent on the mainly Western suppliers of seed and pesticides.

France is reportedly the major Western supplier.