will this completly destroy it

By Washington correspondent Kim Landers

Australian wheat exporter AWB could soon face a $US1 billion lawsuit in the United States because of the Iraqi kickback scandal.

A group of US wheat farmers wants to revive legal action against AWB for effectively shutting them out of the Iraqi wheat market by bribing Saddam Hussein's regime.

Lawyer Palmer Floret says his clients may seek more than $US1 billion in compensation and punitive damages.

"The AWB has no defence in this case, there's only one question really to be determined in this case and that is what is the amount of loss that the US wheat farmers suffered?" he said.

The US Department of Agriculture is also examining whether to stop doing business with AWB.

Dave R.