SAUDI PANTS ON FIRE
Saudi Ambassador Says Boycott of Israel Will Not End - Eli Lake (New York Sun)
Saudi Arabia will not end its boycott of Israel despite its membership in the World Trade Organization, a body that prohibits such trade barriers between member states. Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Prince Turki al-Faisal told the Brookings Institution on Monday that his country's primary boycott of Israel is a "matter of national sovereignty."
The ambassador's comments contradict earlier agreements Saudi trade representatives made with their American counterparts to bring an end to the embargo, a condition of gaining American [Ed. and Israeli] support for the kingdom's accession to the WTO. Stephen Norton, a spokesman for the office of the U.S. trade representative, said Tuesday: "In our view, maintaining the primary boycott of Israel is not consistent with Saudi Arabia's commitment to extend full WTO treatment to all WTO members."
1 comment:
Saudi will have the votes to remain a WTO member even with this boycott. I believe, although it's against WTO rules, that each sovereign nationa can make that decision for itself.
Besides, it'd be bad economically for Israel to sell its goods within Saudi. Nobody would buy it, including myself. If trading does take place between the two nations, the defecit will be in favor of Saudi. That will coerce Israel in halting the trade agreements.
Post a Comment