AMMAN, February 22 (IslamOnline.net) – The boycott campaign against American goods and products has witnessed a noticeable decrease since it was launched a couple of years ago. However, its successes can still be felt, as the Israeli-British company which manufactures concrete has withdrawn from the local Jordanian market.

The RMC group of companies announced that it sold its shares to Jordanian investors after the disappointing results it has received after professional syndicates, active in the boycott movement, have placed it on the blacklist of companies.

Speaking to IslamOnline.net, John Robinson the financial manger of the company said: "During the last seven years, the company has been excluded from a number of contracts and projects. We have spent a lot of effort and money in the Jordanian market, but we can't turn our backs on the good relationship we have with Israel."

Robinson said that the boycott campaign has had a dramatic effect on the company's performance and that they are now more worried about the company's investments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) adding that he "regrets" withdrawing from Jordan.

The company, known in Jordan as Al Ramz Concrete Industries has another branch in Israel under the same name. It started its operations in Jordan in 1997, hoping to benefit from the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty signed in 1994 however, it was faced by a strong anti-neutralization resistance from the Jordanian street.

The companies investments in the local market reached 6 million Jordanian Dinar and has an annual profit between five to five and a half millions.

This is the third largest company of the concrete industry in Jordan and its withdrawal from the Jordanian market, while viewed by some as a heavy blow on the efforts of foreign investments, is also considered by many as an achievement for the boycott campaign.

Robinson blamed the Jordanian government for not cracking down heavily on the activities of the boycott committees whom he blamed for the company's losses.

In an ironic move, the investors who bought the company changed its name to the "Al Quds Company for Ready Mixed Concrete".

Economists say that the Jordanian market has lost one of the largest companies working in the field of construction.

However, this is not the first time that a company withdraws from the Jordanian market because of the boycott campaign. The Al Assrya company for dairy products has also withdrawn because of the campaigns, as it was placed on the blacklists which accuses the company of neutralizing and having joint ventures with Israel.

In October 2002, the Jordanian Minister of State for Political Affairs Mohammad Adwan called for the dissolution of committees linked to trade unions that are opposed to the normalization of ties with Israel.

“These committees must be dissolved because they cause huge losses for the national economy estimated at millions of dinars and harm Jordanian interests,” Minister of State for Political Affairs Mohammad Adwan said.

“The anti-normalization committees linked to some trade unions are illegal and their activities are a flagrant challenge to Jordanian laws,” said Adwan, who is also government spokesman and information minister.

Also in October, Jordanian trade unions began to set up defense councils for three labor leaders jailed for anti-Israeli activities.

The secretary general of the Jordanian engineers’ union, Ali Abu Sukkar, as well as union members Mayssarah Malla and Badi Rafayeh were ordered held for a renewable period of 15 days a day after their arrest in Amman.

State prosecutor Mahmoud Obeidat of the military state security court accused the three men of “membership of an illegal organization”, in reference to their membership in an anti-Israeli normalization committee.

Judicial sources said the three published leaflets opposed to normalization of ties between Jordan and Israel, which have been bound by a peace treaty since 1994.

Their union has demanded their release and vowed in a statement to “boycott those dealing” with the Jewish state, in reference to Jordanian firms that do business with Israel.

In April, 2002, the Jordanian government blocked a website that called people to resist normalization with Israel and to boycott American products. The site issued a booklet in which they instruct demonstrators on the right way to deal with the security officers who will try to come in their way during a demonstration they were organizing against the Israeli embassy.