Senate Committee Urged to Hold Hearings on Arab Boycott Pressure in U.S.

Chairman John Sparkman of the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency was urged today by Senators Jacob K. Javits, New York Republican, and Harrison A. Williams, Jr., New Jersey Democrat, to hold hearings on the effectiveness of the present antiboycott law because of the desire of many American business interests to testify against the continuation of Arab boycott tactics. The Committee was asked to consider steps to deal more effectively with the boycott.

The Senators sent the Committee chairman a partial list of prospective witnesses who desire to submit testimony to the Senate on current Arab intrusions into American commercial freedom. The list included such institutions as the California Chamber of International Trade and Zenith Radio, Sen. Javits and Sen. Williams said that in addition to witnesses from the U.S. business community, the Department of Commerce would supply “such information as the Committee might desire.”

The two Senators, co-sponsors of anti-boycott legislation that was watered down by Administration pressures, on Feb. 1 introduced a Senate resolution to authorize a study by the Senate Committee into the effectiveness of the present law. Since that time, the Senators found “a great deal of interest has been expressed in the study” and a large number of firms and individuals have indicated desire to provide testimony and new facts for the Committee’s consideration.

Sen. Sparkman, an Alabama Democrat, was requested to undertake “a study of the effectiveness of present law in protecting United States trade and business practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by foreign countries against other countries friendly to the United States (such as Israel) and shall make such recommendations as it may deem necessary to protect U.S. business and trade against the adverse effects of such boycotts or restrictive trade practices.”