UAE CONCERNED BY REPEAT BOYCOTT OFFENDERS

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001180 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP (MCGOVERN),NEA/RA (MKELLY) STATE PLEASE PASS USTR (MOWREY, BUNTIN) COMMERCE FOR BIS/OIC TREASURY FOR DAVID JOY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON KBCT AE SUBJECT: UAE CONCERNED BY REPEAT BOYCOTT OFFENDERS REF: A) ABU DHABI 1123; 11/27/09 KELLY EMAIL ¶1. (SBU) On December 20, EconOff presented Ref B USDOC list of Jan-Jun 2009 UAE prohibited boycott requests to Ministry of Economy Executive Director for Commercial Affairs (Undersecretary-equivalent) Humaid Bin Butti. EconOff highlighted the large number of UAE requests compared to others in the region, and the significant number of firms, including telecom giant Etisalat, that continue to include boycott language in tenders and contracts. Bin Butti said the numbers may be reflective of strong US-UAE commercial ties, including in trade and services. EconOff agreed that this was one factor, but that the number of reports could not be explained by trade alone. ¶2. (SBU) Bin Butti was particularly concerned by the presence of firms, such as Etisalat and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority, who the Ministry had previously contacted and alerted to UAEG boycott regulations. He admitted that this is an indication that the Ministry's outreach efforts are not fully successful and said the Ministry will reconsider how to approach offending firms. Bin Butti also noted that the majority of the firms are established government-related entities who should be well aware of UAE boycott policies. In some cases, he predicted a high-level meeting might be required to stress to the involved firm the importance of compliance with government policies. EconOff told Bin Butti that BIS/OIC officials are expected to visit in late January and will hope to meet with him to discuss the Ministry's efforts. OLSON