Show THE VOICE OF BUSINESS There is no Israel r boycott list That famous Commerce Department list of oC American firms participating in the Arab boycott of Israel simply doesn't exist But you'd have a hard time learning that from the news Seldom if ever ver have American journalists done a sloppier job of reporting a major issue Not one of the many stories I have seen presents a very clear idea of oC exactly what the government is compiling And that's disgraceful since all you have to do to find out is read the Commerce Department What the Commerce Department has been collecting from Crom American businesses is a Report of oC Restrictive Trade Practice or Boycott Request Request Request Re Re- quest Merely filing this form torm with the Department does not mean that a company has participated in a boycott Far from Crom it It may simply indicate indicate in In- that the company company has received a from an Arab co country soliciting Information in information information In- In formation about the company's trade relations with Israel Or Oran Oran Oran an invitation to bid that contains contains suc such qu questions The company concerned might wight refuse to return the question ire It might return the but refuse to participate in th the boycott But it must file the same same form with the Commerce Department no no matter which c course urse of action it takes Further the tile only thing the form discloses is how the company compan responded to an an inform information in in- form formation a inn request from froma a a boycotting country It does doos not indicate whether the firm ac ac- joined the boycott NEVERTHELESS all firms which have conscientiously filed rued this document in compliance com com- with US U.S. law are now Inthe in inthe inthe the position of being tarred with the same brush even if they have done dune nothing unprincipled or illegal Indeed many of them fear they will themselves be subject unjustly to boycott within the U U. S S. S by people who dont don't understand the significance of oC the Commerce Department form For the record I 1 do not approve of any boycott foreign or domestic including those initiated initialed here periodically by various lab labor r and activist groups But for a complete understanding of this flap its it's advisable to know what is and what isn't in violation of current US U.S. Law as well as exactly what it is the Arabs want to prevent First US U.S. law According to the Commerce Department all US U.S. exporters 1 are prohibited from taking any action including the furnishing of Information or the signing of agreements that would have havethe havethe havethe the the effect of discriminating against US U.S. citizens or firms on the basis of race color religion sex sex or nati national nal origin and 2 are encouraged and requested to refuse to take any action n including the furnishing of information or the signing of agreements that would have havethe havethe havethe the effect of furthering or supporting other types of restrictive trade practices or orb b boycotts against a country friendly to the United States Stales In other words even anticipation anticipation an in a boycott is not a violation of US U.S. law as long as asit asit asit it does not have the effect of discriminating against US U.S. citizens or firms on the grounds specified NOW TIlE THE ARABS Contrary to popular belief most of oC the Arab states do not prohibit the entry of Ame American ican business executives who happen to be of the Jewish faith Nor do they refuse to do business with a company that also does business with Israel What they are trying to keep out is products that originate in whole or in part in Israel and less clearly ships that tha have called at an Israeli port Even those who most strongly oppose the Arab boycott would be foolish to take comfort in the release of f the Commerce Department files flies Besides blackening some some reputations unfairly the US U.S. government in disclosing this data is also calling attention to those firms which have refused to respond to Arab requests for Inform information tion No doubt the boycott administrators rs will be most grateful The whole mess is a good example of the Commerce Department Dep report form item C C stated Information f furnished herewith is deemed confidential and will not be published or disclosed There were sound reasons for that pl pledge ge |