AMMAN, Jordan, May 30 (UPI) -- Jordan's Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb has said the opposition's campaign to boycott U.S. goods was hurting efforts to attract American investment.
Jordan is "exerting huge efforts to attract necessary American investments, and these efforts cannot ripen with calls by some to boycott American goods," he said in an interview published in the semi-official al Rai daily Thursday.
He said though the government respected individual freedom, the national interest should come first.
He said the people "should not harm Jordanian investments that carry American brand names, because the capital, the products and labor are 100 percent local."
The National Coalition for the Support of the Intifada, a coalition of 16 political parties and 14 professional syndicates, had called for a boycott of U.S. products to protest against what they perceive to be Washington's support of Israel's policies against the Palestinians.
The campaign was first launched following the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000, but gained momentum last March when Israel launched massive military operations in the Palestinian territories.
The coalition said sales of U.S. products had dropped significantly due to its campaign using leaflets and the Internet in schools and colleges.
An interview of seven grocery store owners by United Press International found sales of Coca Cola and Pepsi had dropped by 60 percent in April and May. They said other U.S. products such as chocolates, had decreased.
"We are cutting down on our Coca Cola and Pepsi orders by half because the demand is down," said Abu Hamdi, who runs a store in the Amman's affluent Abdoun area.
Another shop owner, Husam Hamad, in the commercial district of Shmeisani, said some customers had threatened to boycott his store for stocking U.S. products.
"Some of our customers have complained because we sell American canned food, soft drinks and chocolates, and some of them even threatened to stop shopping here if we kept them," he said. "We have had to find alternative products from Europe and the Arab countries, and they're selling very well."
Officials at McDonald's and Burger King also said their sales had dropped in the past two months, but did not give any figures.
But Prime Minister Abul Ragheb brushed aside the effect of the boycott campaign, telling al-Rai that it was "an individual and random trend, where some boycott American soft drinks and at the same time take American medicine."
He pointed out that Jordan "has very important economic and commercial ties with the US, especially through the Free Trade Agreement that gives Jordan an opportunity to benefit from many privileges, including export to the world's largest market."
He noted that Jordan's exports to the US totaled $250 million.
