Officials of the Departments of State and Commerce have urged a Senate subcommittee not to propose new legislation against the Arab boycott of American firms trading with Israel. Assistant Secretary of Commerce K.N. Davis, Jr. and Roger P. Davies, deputy assistant Secretary of State, appeared before the Senate international finance subcommittee.
Mr. Davis said the Arab boycott had not weakened Israel and that U.S. action against the boycott was unnecessary and undesirable. He said if Congress enacted new restrictions on Arab trade tactics, all this would do would be to close profitable Arab markets to American business and industry. A 1965 law calls on American businessmen to refuse to cooperate with the Arab boycott but it imposes no mandatory restraints on trade with Arab countries. Mr. Davis said the non-mandatory law should be left as it is.
He conceded that the 1965 law had not “significantly” weakened the Arab boycott but insisted that U.S. legislation could not generally be expected “to be a decisive factor in eliminating a foreign Government practice.” Mr. Davies agreed that the law should not be strengthened.
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