DEMARCHE ON BOYCOTT OF U.S. AND ISRAELI PRODUCTS

UNCLAS AMMAN 002221 SIPDIS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KBCT PREL ETRD AL IS US JO SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON BOYCOTT OF U.S. AND ISRAELI PRODUCTS DELIVERED TO JORDAN REF: (A) STATE 84703 (B) AMMAN 2093 ¶1. (SBU) On May 6, Poloff conveyed reftel points on the boycott issue to Ali Al-Ayed of Foreign Minister Muasher's Private Office. Al-Ayed offered no substantive comment but promised to convey the message to FM Muasher who is currently in Washington with King Abdullah and other senior members of the GOJ. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: Post continues to support business community efforts to find appropriate responses to popular calls to boycott U.S. products and services (ref b). The local Amercian Chamber of Commerce is working quietly to ensure that opinion-makers in the media and elsewhere are aware of the potential costs of a boycott to Jordan. The GOJ fully recognizes the potential negative consequences an anti-American boycott could have and will do what it can to ensure that one does not materialize. The Jordanians are hoping for progress on the political front that would defuse the calls for a boycott and other steps promoted by anti-normalizers. BERRY