The attorneys general from 13 Republican-led states in the US, led by the attorney general of Iowa, Brenna Byrd, have warned Britain and the Netherlands of possible economic retaliation unless they withdraw the sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
In an official letter to the ambassadors of the two countries, the officials warned that British and Dutch companies could lose contracts from the United States government or face the realization of public investments under American anti-boycott laws.
The attorneys general accused both governments of interfering with Israel's sovereignty and harming American businesses, while raising the possibility of federal trade actions.
From the letter:
Your countries recently imposed, or announced their intention to impose, commercial sanctions aimed at economic activity related to certain communities in Israel.
These sanctions reflect a misguided attempt to interfere in the internal policy of another sovereign country. They also cause potentially severe economic damage to individuals and businesses in other countries, including our own, and align with the goals of terrorist organizations that are fundamentally opposed to your political systems and ours.
We call on both the Netherlands and the UK to lift these harmful sanctions against Israel.
The anti-Israeli sanctions imposed by your countries seek, in an unacceptable manner, to control Israel's internal political processes and to regulate activities conducted entirely on the territory of another country. These efforts undermine Israel's sovereignty and also conflict with the sovereignty of many countries in the US.
Your countries will never tolerate a similar attempt to control their sovereign decisions or directly regulate the activity that takes place entirely within their borders.
Forcing companies to boycott Israel would put them in conflict with American law. See, e.g., § 760.2 of the Federal Regulations and sections 4841–4843 of title 50 of the U.S.C.