An article in today’s Jerusalem Post reports that the Arab Boycott of Israel, often thought to be on the wane, is alive and well and perhaps on the rise:

According to material compiled by the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, Arab states made a total of 201 boycott-related requests in all of 2005, or fewer than 17 per month.

By contrast, US firms have reported receiving 120 boycott-related requests in just the first six months of this year, for an average of 20 per month, marking an increase of nearly 20 percent over the rate recorded last year.

The Jerusalem Post refers to this as a “sharp increase” although given the small number of data points here the difference between these figures may not be a statistically significant indicator of an increase. Additionally, these numbers still reflect a reduction from the 295 and 297 reports in 2003 and 2002 respectively. Even so, the numbers are high enough that exporters should realize that the Arab boycott is not a thing of the past.

The Post article is also interesting for its indication of which Arab countries appear to have generated the most anti-boycott reports by American companies:

Based on the material compiled by the Commerce Department, it appears that at least seven Arab countries, including ostensible US allies such as Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Iraq, are enforcing the terms of the Arab boycott more energetically this year than in 2005.

At the top of the list is the UAE, which made 40 boycott-related requests during the period of January to June, followed by Syria, with 20.

The prominence of the UAE on the list is not surprising since it has, at least for the past few years, led the list. That, however, may be short-lived. The United States and the UAE are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement, and the U.S. has made the UAE’s participation in the boycott an issue in the negotiations.

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