By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

              HAVANA (AP) -- U.S. lawmakers said they failed to persuade Fidel Castro to go
              along with a deal that would allow Cuba to buy American food, despite their
              successful battle to get the bill through Congress last year.

              However, as they prepared to leave Cuba on Friday, the lawmakers said they
              remain optimistic that American farmers someday will sell goods to the Caribbean
              nation.

              ``It has not happened yet, but I am more optimistic than I was two days ago,'' said
              Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash. He and Reps. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., and
              William Delahunt, D-Mass., met with Castro and other Cuban officials this week.

              Nethercutt last year sponsored legislation aimed at easing the U.S. embargo by
              allowing the sale of American food to Cuba for the first time in 40 years. The
              legislation was approved by Congress and signed by President Clinton.

              Although supporters hailed the measure as a victory for American farmers, Cuban
              authorities have adamantly said they would not buy ``a single cent'' of American
              food under the new law.

              Cuban authorities are angry that the law restricts the U.S. government and American
              banks from financing the food sales -- a limitation that the Cubans say makes such
              transactions all but impossible.

              Another clause -- included as part of a compromise with hard-line opponents of
              Cuba -- also tightened restrictions on travel to the island by Americans, further
              angering Havana.

              Nethercutt said he urged the Cubans to compromise.

              ``Last year we took steps to lift the sanctions on sales of food and medicine,'' he
              said. ``We are looking to Cuba now to also take a bold step.''

              Though they were returning home without any promises of food sales, the
              lawmakers emphasized they had established lines of communication they hope will
              prove helpful in the future.

              ``It is the beginning of a process,'' said Delahunt. ``Small steps could very well
              create a momentum.''

              The lawmakers attended a 4 1/2 hour dinner with Castro on Wednesday.

              During their stay on the island, they also met with representatives of Cuba's
              agricultural and trade ministries, the Cuban Chamber of Commerce and the National
              Assembly, or parliament. They were accompanied by representatives of the USA
              Rice Federation.

              The delegation also met with a group of dissidents, who told them that they, too,
              opposed the U.S. trade embargo.