Dubai Ports World and the Arab Boycott of Israel

Dubai Ports World  is owned by the UAE government, via a holding company called the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCZC) of Dubai. PCZC also owns the Dubai Customs Department and the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area.

The two corporate sisters of Dubai Ports World, actively enforce the Arab Boycott of Israel, however, as the Jerusalem Post's Michael Freund discovered.

President Jimmy Carter signed anti—boycott legislation in 1977 which encouraged and in some cases required American firms to refuse to take actions that have the effect of supporting the restrictive trade practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by any foreign government against a country friendly to the United States or against any American.

I am not familiar with the provisions of the act.

Probably doing business with Dubai Ports World would not be construed to be in support of the Arab Boycott, but there may be a legal argument to be made. Public agencies like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey may want to consider whether they should be doing business with a holding company whose divisions participate actively in the Arab Boycott.

Hat tip: Ed Lasky

Thomas Lifson    2 28 06

UPDATE:

Via Little Green Footballs:

Israeli website Globes reports

[DPW] also dispatched deputy CEO Ted Bilkey, an American citizen, who gave interviews in the media and met with legislators in an attempt to push the deal through.

Asked in an interview last week with 'CNN' reporter Wolf Blitzer whether Dubai Ports World was doing business with Israel while the UAE refused to recognize Israel, Bilkey replied, 'One of our very sound customers is Zim line. It's the largest shipping company. And the president of that company is very close to our company and supports us, because we have good relations with all of our clients.

' We handle their operations in a number of ports throughout the world because it's good commercial business for us. They wouldn't come to us unless we did a good job,' added Bilkey.

This makes sense. One subsidiary, DPW, soes business with Zim around the world. But two sister enterprises do not, and enforce the boycott. The owners (the UAE government) have it both ways via the capitalist invention of the holding company.