Unions call to boycott U.S. medical products over Jerusalem

CAIRO – 7 December 2017: In response to the U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, 10 trade unions in Egypt called for adopting a unified position against the decision, amid calls to boycott of American products.

On Thursday, Mohie Eddin Ebeid, the head of the Egyptian Pharmacist Syndicate and the Union of Arab Pharmacists, stated that Egyptian trade unions will discuss possible actions to express their rejection on the U.S. decision. He added that the Union of Arab Pharmacists will hold an urgent meeting to reach a unified stance regarding the American decision.

He stressed that the trade unions represent millions of Egyptians, pointing out that they will cooperate with security authorities to agree on possible ways to protest the U.S decision.

Ebeid said that the Pharmacist Syndicate will conduct a survey of American medicine, whether exported from the U.S. or manufactured by U.S. companies operating in the local market, in preparation for a possible boycott. He added that the syndicate will distribute a list of to-be boycotted products to over 73,000 pharmacies nationwide in order to stop the sale of them to consumers and replace them with local alternatives.

Ebeid noted that the U.S. medical products represent about 10 percent of total exported medicine, the equivalent of LE 1 billion in investment.

Kawthar Mahmoud, the head of Egyptian Nursing Syndicate, called on 250,000 nurses across the country to boycott American medical supplies and replace them with local products, stressing that the syndicate supports any decision that favors the Arab nations.

In addition, Yasser Al-Gendi, the head of Egyptian Dentists Syndicate, called on Egyptian and Arab dentists to protest in front U.S. Embassies across the world as well as in front of the White House in opposition to Trump’s decision. He added that the Arab Dental Federation will issue a statement soon rejecting the decision.

Al-Gendi warned of the repercussions of the American decision on the stability of the Middle East region because of Jerusalem’s importance to Arab and Islamic societies.

On December 6, Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during a televised speech from the White House. This involved the decision to transfer the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem amid growing global and regional condemnations and warnings.