Responding to news reports that the Bush Administration is close to announcing the conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement that would pave the way for Saudi Arabia’s entry into the WTO, the letter states: "It is premature to reward Saudi Arabia with this benefit when we should be demanding more progress on a variety of key foreign policy, national security and human rights issues."

Specifically, the letter outlines four areas of concern regarding Saudi Arabian policies, including the Arab League boycott against Israel; lack of full cooperation in combating terrorism; human rights abuses and lack of religious freedom.

The letter adds: "In every one of these four categories, the U.S. Government has clearly documented Saudi failures. … Now is not the time to reward Saudi Arabia. …We urge the Administration to oppose Saudi accession to the WTO until Saudi Arabia renounces the Arab League boycott of Israel, takes more active and meaningful measures to cut off both finances and ideologies that feed terrorist movements across the globe, improved its record on human rights and shows some tolerance for the religious views and practices of others."

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May 25, 2005

Dear Ambassador Portman:

We are writing to express our concerns regarding Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has been reported that the Administration is about to reach an agreement with the Saudis that will include American support for their entry into the WTO. We believe it is premature to reward Saudi Arabia with this benefit, when instead we should be demanding more progress on a variety of key foreign policy, national security and human rights issues.

Our primary concerns about Saudi Arabia’s policies fall into four categories:

Arab League Boycott Against Israel: The U.S. position has been very clear regarding Saudi Arabia’s continuing participation in the Arab League boycott against Israel. The 1994 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (P.L. 103-465) explicitly states that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) should "vigorously oppose" the admission into the WTO of any country that participates in boycott activities.

Based upon Acting USTR Peter Allgeier’s letter to Senator Blanche Lincoln dated April 16, 2005, we are not satisfied that the Administration is giving this issue sufficient attention. While we are pleased that the number of annual incidents of Saudi firms invoking the boycott against U.S. firms has dropped, there were still 43 confirmed instances of illegal boycott activities in Saudi Arabia in 2004. As stated by USTR in its annual trade barriers report, the Arab League boycott remains "a significant barrier to U.S. trade and investment." The same USTR report states that Saudi Arabia maintains a policy of banning foreign companies from exporting to Saudi Arabia if the companies are found to have exported any products with Israeli content to the Kingdom.

Terrorism: While we are pleased by recent reports of some progress in Saudi Arabia in terms of curbing terrorist financing, we do not believe that now is the right time to ease up on American pressure. The Administration itself continues to identify numerous areas where the Saudi response has been insufficient. The U.S. Treasury Department, for example, recently criticized the Kingdom for not establishing an oversight commission to regulate its charitable sector. The Treasury Department also criticized Saudi Arabia for its failure to set up a Financial Intelligence Unit, especially "[g]iven the concentration of financial activity in Saudi Arabia and the grim reality of terrorist activity in its own cities."

Additionally, the Department has expressed concern about "the export of terrorist ideologies that promote war and killing in the name of religion." As stated by Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey earlier this month, "These distorted ideologies are just as indispensable to terrorists as money, and possibly even more pernicious. We must do all we can to ensure that extremist, violent ideologies are not exported under the cover of religious organizations, charities, or schools." If the Administration is so alarmed at Saudi Arabia’s continuing failure to curb terrorism and its sources, why would we want to support the Kingdom’s WTO accession at this time?

Human Rights: Once again, the Administration’s own reports continue to identify Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s leading human right violators. The State Department’s Report on Human Rights Practices, released earlier this year, describes the Saudi government’s human rights record as "poor overall with continuing serious problems," including:

The Saudi government also continues to be uncooperative in resolving cases involving the abduction of American children by their Saudi fathers. In spite of the efforts of Members of the Senate and the House and the intervention of U.S. courts, the Saudis remain generally unresponsive.

Religious Freedom: The U.S. State Department’s 2004 International Religious Freedom Report provides a chilling indictment of life in Saudi Arabia: "Freedom of religion does not exist. It is not recognized or protected under the country's laws, and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam. Citizens are denied the freedom to choose or change their religion, and noncitizens practice their beliefs under severe restrictions. Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The Government limits the practice of all but the officially sanctioned version of Islam and prohibits the public practice of other religions."

Additionally, as the Director of Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom recently wrote: "[T]here is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and everyone there, Muslim or not, must obey the rules of the extreme sharia of the kingdom's established religion, the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. The Saudi state indoctrinates its nationals from an early age in the Wahhabi ideology of zero tolerance for the "other." Government textbooks and publications teach that it is a religious obligation for Muslims to hate Christians and Jews and warn against imitating, befriending, or helping them in any way, or taking part in their festivities and celebrations. The state teaches a Nazi-like hatred for Jews, treats the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historical fact, and avows that the Muslim's duty is to eliminate the state of Israel."

In every one of these four categories, the U.S. Government has clearly documented Saudi failures. Therefore, now is not the time to reward Saudi Arabia. Too many American interests and values are at stake. We urge the Administration to oppose Saudi accession to the WTO until Saudi Arabia renounces the Arab League boycott of Israel, takes more active and meaningful measures to cut off both the finances and ideologies that feed terrorist movements across the globe, improves its record on human rights and shows some tolerance for the religious views and practices of others.

Sincerely,