Dubai Threatens Economic Retaliation If Port Deal Blocked

The nation of Dubai, hailed as a partner of the United States, is threatening to retaliate economically if the deal to takeover port operations in this country is cancelled.

As the House Appropriations Committee yesterday marked up legislation to kill Dubai Ports World's acquisition of Britain's Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation (P&O), the emirate let it be known that it is preparing to hit back hard if necessary.

A source close to the deal said members of Dubai's royal family are furious at the hostility both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have shown toward the deal.

"They're saying, 'All we've done for you guys, all our purchases, we'll stop it, we'll just yank it,'" the source said.

Retaliation from the emirate could come against lucrative deals with aircraft maker Boeing and by curtailing the docking of hundreds of American ships, including U.S. Navy ships, each year at its port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the source added...

Any repercussion to Boeing could put House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) in a delicate position. Boeing's decision to move its headquarters to Chicago has been seen as calculated to facilitate a close relationship with Hastert. He is against the ports deal, and his office did not return calls by press time...

The United States and the UAE are meeting next week for a fourth round of talks to sign a free-trade agreement. The American Business Group of Abu Dhabi, which has no affiliation with the U.S. government, said that Arabs may hesitate to invest into the United States, according to a report by Reuters.

One of the most savvy international business types I know has previously indicated that the free-trade agreement with the UAE, especially as it would allow majority ownership by American companies of oil projects there, is the real motivation for the Bush administration to strongly back the port deal.