Archive: Slowking4 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced Monday a letter, dated Nov. 5, in which 13 state attorneys general urge the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to abandon trade sanctions tied to Israel. The letter is addressed to the Dutch and British ambassadors to the United States. It is a warning, not an action. No divestment, no change to the sanctions and no legal action has occurred.
The signers are the attorneys general of Iowa, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
The attorneys general argue that the sanctions could hurt businesses, including companies in their states. They say that under U.S. law and many state laws, companies that boycott Israel can be barred from doing business with certain government entities. In their view, that could keep some American firms from serving British and Dutch customers. These are the signers’ legal arguments, and the letter reflects their reading of the law, not settled fact.
The letter also warns of possible consequences. It says the states could restrict state contracts with companies from the two countries, or require state funds to be divested from them, under their existing laws. It adds that the states “reserve” the right to seek remedies under U.S. trade law if the sanctions continue. Bird said in a statement that the sanctions “are bad for American business.”
Context: the UK and the Netherlands have announced or imposed sanctions aimed at certain economic activity in Israel. The letter is critical of those measures and of the two governments. The British and Dutch governments are not quoted in the attorneys general’s letter or announcement, and we have not seen a response from either.
Why it matters: state contract and pension decisions can affect companies with business in the U.S., and the letter signals possible trade-law complaints. Still unknown: whether the UK or the Netherlands will respond or change course, whether any state will act on the warnings, and whether any federal trade review will follow.
File photo: the Embassy of the Netherlands compound in Washington. It does not show Monday’s announcement.
JBizNews Desk | Des Moines, Iowa
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