The Dutch Labor Party is urging the government to introduce a bill making it compulsory for Dutch films to report any boycott demands by foreign countries to the government. Labor has asked for an urgent debate on the matter before Parliament recesses for the summer.
The government had announced some time ago that it would present such a bill. But it has come under strong pressure not to, apparently for fear of economic reprisals at a time when Holland’s economy is in severe difficulties and there is a high rate of unemployment.
The measure as originally drafted referred specifically to the Arab boycott of firms doing business with Israel. But that reference was dropped in a later version. An advisory committee headed by Prof. Jan Der Grinten, an economist, recommended that the proposed bill not be included, as planned, in deregulation legislation aimed at simplifying the administrative rules affecting Dutch businesses.
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