The government, supported by the three major political parties, announced today that it will not withdraw an anti-boycott bill despite advice to the contrary by a special committee set up to review the matter.
The Cabinet’s decision, announced this morning by Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Frits Bolkstein, apparently ensures the passage by Parliament of the measure that will require Dutch firms to report to the government any boycott demands made by countries with which they do business. The decision was backed by the Christian Democrats and Liberals and the opposition Labor Party.
But the new law will be considerably broader and less restrictive than the one originally debated in Parliament. The latter referred specifically to the Arab boycott of Israel, discrimination against Jews by Dutch firms operating in Arab countries, and the issuance of declarations by the firms that they are not Jewish-owned. The measure as it stands now omits reference to the Arab boycott. It is couched in general terms which could apply, for example, to the American boycott of firms supplying equipment for the Sovietnatural gas pipeline to Western Europe.
The bill will be in effect for three years. It will apply only to firms domiciled in Holland and doing business in Holland. Firms legally registered in Holland but doing business outside Dutch territory, are exempt. Two weeks ago, an advisory panel headed by economist Jan Van der Grinten, recommended that the government drop the bill in accordance with its policy of deregularization.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
