Britain is expected to announce a ban on trade in goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, in a move the government has linked to protecting the prospects of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
Goods produced in the territories currently do not receive preferential tariff treatment under the UK–Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, and updated government guidance advises British companies against economic and financial activity there.
An outright ban would go further, restricting the trade itself rather than withholding preferential treatment or issuing advisory guidance.
Speaking to the Commons on Sept. 1, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said he was concerned about the pace of settlement expansion and that the government would set out a comprehensive package of measures.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office minister Stephen Doughty also told MPs to expect further announcements in due course.
The government has linked the action to efforts to curb expansion in the territories and protect the prospects of a future Palestinian state.
Calls for a full ban have been growing in Parliament. During a July 9 backbench debate, MPs pressed the government to go further, with the debate’s sponsor, MP Abtisam Mohamed, telling the Commons that more than 32,000 constituents had written to their MPs asking them to “attend and speak on this important issue.”
The anticipated British action has drawn a warning from U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican.
In a social media post, Fine said a Florida law he helped pass while serving in the state Legislature could prevent British companies participating in a boycott of Israel from doing business with Florida state or local government.
Fine wrote that the law would “end any British business participating in that boycott from doing any business in Florida.”
He also said such companies could face restrictions on official interactions needed to operate, including permits and tax collection, and warned that the consequences for British businesses could amount to billions of dollars.
Florida’s statute, now codified as section 287.135 of the Florida Statutes, addresses eligibility for contracts with state and local government agencies for companies subject to the state’s restrictions on businesses that boycott Israel.
Fine’s broader description of the law’s effect is his own characterization; the statute sets out contracting restrictions rather than a blanket prohibition on doing business in Florida.
Legislative records show Fine, then a Florida state representative, was the lead sponsor of the 2018 bill that produced the law.
Fine also cited Airbnb’s 2019 reversal of a decision to remove West Bank settlement listings as evidence of the Florida law’s effect.
A 2019 statement from the Texas comptroller’s office, however, credited that reversal to action taken under a Texas boycott-related list, not the Florida statute.
“I think without a doubt there will be” a U.S. reaction, including at the level of individual states. The measure could have a “huge economic impact on British businesses,” with some companies potentially barred from doing business in certain states, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told BBC News on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, the British government had not formally confirmed the trade measure. Ministers’ recent statements to Parliament indicated that further details were forthcoming.
