The anti-boycott legislation proposed by the Ford Administration is “a token measure which fails to address the tremendous pressures imposed upon American firms by the perpetrators of the Arab boycott,” Rep. Robert F. Drinan (D.Mass.) said here.
Attorney General Edward Levi submitted the legislation Jan. 19. It was first outlined by President Ford last November. Its intent is to prohibit economic coercion that results in discrimination against American citizens on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Companies would not be permitted to enter into subcontracts contingent upon the subcontractor agreeing not to do business with Jewish-owned firms.
“This proposal is a worthwhile addition to our body of civil rights law, but it has little relevance to the operation of the Arab boycott,” Drinan said. “The demands imposed on American firms by the Arab states are rarely blatantly discriminatory on religious grounds.”
In general, Drinan noted, companies are required to certify that they do not do business with firms blacklisted by the Arab League and that they do not do business with Israel. In addition, American firms may be asked to supply information on the religious affiliations of their owners and directors as a precondition to doing business with the Arab states. “The Administration’s proposal would do nothing to prevent companies from complying with those demands,” he said.
“On the contrary,” the Administration has “consistently refused to take action under existing law to prohibit participation in the boycott by American firms.” Drinan pointed out that officials from the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justice and State have “testified repeatedly against the enactment of new legislation to prohibit compliance with the boycott.”
Drinan said also that “while claiming that it has taken steps to persuade the Arab states to halt restrictive trade practices, the Administration continues to promote trade between American firms and the boycotters.”
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