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U.S. Companies in Gulf Lose 40% Sales Due To Boycott Campaigns
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| American companies are losing in Arab countries |
By
Reda Hammad, IOL UAE correspondent
ABU
DHABI, April 22 (IslamOnline) – A U.S. report announced that the
popular Arab campaign for boycotting American products has resulted in
losses for U.S. companies reaching up to 40% during the last two
months.
The
report, issued by the U.S. National Council for U.S.-Arab relations,
said that stores selling American consumer products such as cars,
drinks and foodstuff in the Gulf have lost nearly 40% of their
customers because of the campaigns, which were a direct result for the
Unites state’s governments support for Israel and its obvious
silence regarding the Israeli atrocities in the Palestinian
territories.
The
report, which was prepared by John Anthony, the council’s president,
said that the campaigns were successful because of the religious
sermons and civil student organizations which have asked the people to
boycott American products and distributed lists which includes the
names of these products through the internet and through short
messages on cellular phones.
UAE
daily newspaper Al Ittihad, published the report on Sunday, April 21,
and said that some fast food companies have resorted to organization
donation campaigns for the Palestinian people in order to maintain its
customers. Some American automobile companies have also noticeably
reduced the prices of their cars in order to maintain their share in
the car market.
Meanwhile,
the report said that US campaigns which claimed that the boycott will
harm Arabs, especially those with franchise rights in the Gulf, have
failed, adding that American business men themselves feel that these
campaigns are wrong and misleading and only aim to lessen the negative
effects of the boycott campaigns.
The
business men also said that the American policy makers have ignored
the harm that will affect the image of U.S. products in addition to
children who will grow up in schools that teach them that consuming
American products is wrong and goes against the teachings of Islam.
The
report said that the McDonalds and KFC food chains are the most
affected by the campaigns and quoted a manger of one of these stores
saying that the boycott has not only reached Arabs but also
foreigners.
The
report said that the future of American interests in the Gulf is
worrisome since it may reach other trade relations such as defense,
trade, investment, technological cooperation and purchasing
franchises, and warned against the increase in the threats if the
United States decided to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem.
Meanwhile,
UAE nationals have asked for an end to the American presence in the
Gulf and the reduction of all Gulf-American military cooperation
deals.
Most
UAE nationals interviewed by IslamOnline agreed that eliminating the
presence of U.S. forces on Gulf land is difficult, but reducing the
military deals will add a legitimacy to Gulf governments and will earn
them the respect of Arabs.
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