Grain exports were high in 1816-1817, but in 1818-1819 Western European crops recovered and Russian exports plummeted.

As its Asian trading partners collapsed, its exports plummeted, cutting into its dollar reserves.

The nation's trade deficit rose to $12.1 billion in February, its highest level in a decade, as American exports to Japan plummeted.

"The country's exports were plummeting until August 1998," said P. K. Basu, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston in Singapore.

Mongolia's exports plummeted 55 percent last year and another 27 percent in the first five months of 1992.

When Venezuelan exports plummeted this winter, for example, Saudi production rose sharply - and American imports from Saudi Arabia climbed to record highs.

Business is no longer booming; Singapore's electronic exports plummeted last year; employers are finding cheaper land and labor in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Since Mr. Jaafari became prime minister last year, suicide bombings and assassinations have surged and oil production and exports have plummeted.

A typical example is when changing world price levels cause a country's exports to plummet in value, while the valuation of its imports remains relatively stable.

It is also wrong to claim that Mr. Dole's plan will decimate the agencies that enforce trade laws and will cause exports to plummet.