SAUDIS CONTINUE ISRAEL BOYCOTT DESPITE WTO ADMISSION

U.S. experts discuss boycott with Saudis (JTA)

The United States sent experts to Saudi Arabia to review its boycott of Israel. The Saudis are maintaining their boycott despite their long-awaited ascension last year to the World Trade Organization, which bans boycotts of member nations.   Prior to joining the WTO in September, the Saudis gave assurances they would drop the boycott, leading Israel to withdraw its power to protest its joining. But in December, the Saudis said they were maintaining the boycott. “We are sending a team of experts from the Departments of Commerce and State to work with the Saudi government on boycott issues as they affect U.S. companies,” Rob Portman, the U.S. trade representative, said in congressional testimony last week. “We have raised it with the Saudis, and they tell us they will follow through on their WTO obligations.”