IV
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 175
Concerning the Arab League boycott of Israel.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 4, 1993
Mr. DEUTSCH (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SWETT, Mr. LANTOS, Mr.
SAXTON, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. CANTWELL,
Mr. WYNN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. LEVY, Ms. SNOWE, Mr.
DIAZ-BALART, Mr. FINGERHUT, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. MARGOLIES-
MEZVINSKY, Mr. TORKILDSEN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. ANDREWS of New
Jersey, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida, and Mr. GILMAN)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Concerning the Arab League boycott of Israel.
Whereas the signing on September 13, 1993, of the Declara-
tion of Principles between the Palestine Liberation Orga-
nization and the Government of Israel signals a new era
of cooperation in the Middle East;
Whereas a true peace in the Middle East can only be estab-
lished and remain in effect if there is economic stability
and cooperation in the region;
Whereas adherence to the Arab League boycott of Israel is
a source of economic instability in the Middle East;
•HCON 175 IH
Whereas the nations of the Arab League instituted a primary
boycott against Israel in 1948;
Whereas in the early 1950’s the Arab nations instituted a
secondary and tertiary boycott against the United States
and other firms because of their commercial ties to Is-
rael;
Whereas the boycott attempts to use economic blackmail to
force United States firms to comply with boycott regula-
tion;
Whereas the boycott was cited by the United States Trade
Representative in the 1992 National Trade Estimate Re-
port on Foreign Trade Barriers as an ‘‘additional legal
restraint to U.S. trade in the region’’;
Whereas hundreds of United States firms have been
blacklisted and barred from doing business with nations
of the Arab League under the secondary and tertiary
boycott;
Whereas the total damage caused by the boycott is unknown
because the number of United States firms that conduct
business with Israel and have not attempted commercial
transactions with nations of the Arab League due to boy-
cott requirements is uncertain; and
Whereas the United States has a policy of prohibiting United
States firms from providing Arab nations with the re-
quested evidence of compliance to boycott regulation:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
•HCON 175 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Anti-Boycott
Resolution of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. EXPRESSION OF CONGRESSIONAL VIEWS.
The Congress—
(1) believes the continuation of the Arab
League boycott of Israel will be a severe impediment
to the economic prosperity of all participating na-
tions and to the establishment of a lasting peace in
the Middle East;
(2) believes the secondary and tertiary boycott
cause substantial economic losses to United States
firms;
(3) welcomes the actions by those nations of the
Arab League that have begun dismantling the sec-
ondary and tertiary boycott, and urges them to con-
tinue their efforts until a complete dissolution of the
primary, secondary, and tertiary boycott is achieved;
(4) hopes that the indefinite postponement of
the October 24, 1993, meeting of the Central Boy-
cott Committee signals an end to the placement of
more United States firms on the boycott list and a
willingness to dismantle the boycott in its entirety;
(5) urges those nations that have begun to or
are considering dismantling all forms of the boycott
to publicly make such statements;
•HCON 175 IH
(6) urges those nations that are still enforcing
the boycott to dismantle the boycott in all its forms
and to issue the necessary laws, rules, and regula-
tions to ensure that United States firms have free
and open access to Arab markets regardless of their
business relationship with Israel;
(7) urges those nations, in addition, to cease
enforcing and requiring participation in the boycott
in its primary, secondary, and tertiary forms;
(8) urges the United States Government to con-
tinue to raise the boycott as an unfair trade practice
in every appropriate international trade forum; and
(9) expresses the sense of the Congress that the
end of the Arab League boycott of Israel is of great
urgency to the United States Government and will
continue to be a priority issue in all bilateral rela-
tions with participating nations until its complete
dissolution.
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