Anti-Israeli Boycott Halves
Demand for US Goods in UAE

Agence France-Presse
14 April 2002

DUBAI -- The demand for US goods has dropped 50 percent in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the late-September outbreak of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories in response to calls for a boycott, a newspaper has reported.

Al Ittihad said the decline has been seen most notably in clothing, perfumes and detergents, with German, French and Italian suppliers picking up the

slack. The boycott has also affected American fast-food chains, which have numerous outlets in the Emirates, with demand having dropped more than 35 percent in the past two months.

Appeals for a boycott of US products were launched in reaction to a perception that the United States is biased toward Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians. A blacklist of hundreds of products has been distributed by the thousands in schools and shopping centers throughout the UAE, as well as in neighboring Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

- Agence France-Presse