US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3009

UNCLAS AMMAN 003009 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/PPD; NEA/ARN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: JO, PREL, KPAO, ECON 
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S BURGER KING PROUD TO BE UNAMERICAN 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  BURGER KING JORDAN IS LINING ITS SERVING TRAYS 
WITH A LEAFLET IN ARABIC LABELING THE ORIGIN OF ALL OF ITS 
HAMBURGER INGREDIENTS.  THE FLYERS DO NOT STATE SPECIFICALLY 
THAT BURGER KING'S PRODUCTS ARE NOT AMERICAN, BUT IT DOES 
LABEL EACH INGREDIENT AS JORDANIAN, ARAB, OR AUSTRALIAN. 
THIS LEAFLET IS ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW BUSINESSES IN JORDAN ARE 
ATTEMPTING TO COUNTERACT POPULAR CALLS TO BOYCOTT AMERICAN 
GOODS BY DEMONSTRATING DIRECT TIES TO THE LOCAL JORDANIAN 
ECONOMY.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  BURGER KING JORDAN IS LINING THE RESTAURANT'S SERVING 
TRAYS WITH A FULL-COLOR, PROFESSIONALLY PRINTED LEAFLET WITH 
THE HEADLINE "IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE EATING. BUT 
IT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE SOURCE OF WHAT YOU'RE 
EATING."  THE LEAFLET INCLUDES A PHOTO OF A HAMBURGER WITH 
EACH INGREDIENT LABELED ACCORDING TO ITS COMPANY AND COUNTRY 
OF PRODUCTION.  WHILE THE FLYERS DO NOT STATE OUTRIGHT THAT 
NO INGREDIENTS ARE FROM THE UNITED STATES, THEY DO DECLARE 
THAT "BURGER KING JORDAN IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE TO ITS 
CUSTOMERS THAT ALL INGREDIENTS SERVED ARE LOCAL OR IMPORTED 
FROM THE ARAB WORLD, EUROPE, AND ASIA."  THE LEAFLETS ALSO 
ASSERT THAT ALL OF BURGER KING JORDAN'S EMPLOYEES ARE 
JORDANIAN, "PROUD OF THEIR JORDANIAN AND ARAB HERITAGE," AND 
PROUD OF THE COMPANY'S INVESTMENT IN JORDAN AND ITS PEOPLE. 
 
3.  WHILE THE INITIAL, FERVENT CALLS FOR THE BOYCOTT OF 
AMERICAN GOODS HAVE SEEMED TO DIE DOWN, THE IDEA OF USING AN 
ECONOMIC BOYCOTT AS A POLITICAL TOOL IS STILL DEBATED AMONG 
JORDANIANS BOTH IN THE MEDIA AND INFORMALLY.  THIS WEEK THE 
INDEPENDENT, ISLAMIST WEEKLY AL-SABEEL PRINTED A PRO-BOYCOTT 
ARTICLE THAT OUTLINED THREE POINTS ON "HOW A MUSLIM FAMILY 
CAN SUPPORT THE ECONOMIC BOYCOTT."  AT THE SAME TIME, A 
RECENT PIECE BY THE INFLUENTIAL ECONOMIC COLUMNIST FAHED 
FANEK IN CENTRIST ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DAILY JORDAN TIMES AND IN 
ARABIC-LANGUAGE AL-RAI OUTLINED ARGUMENTS BOTH FOR AND 
AGAINST AN ECONOMIC BOYCOTT.  IT CONCLUDED THAT A BOYCOTT 
WOULD ONLY HURT THE JORDANIAN ECONOMY WITHOUT IMPACTING THE 
U.S.  THE LOCAL AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ALSO HAS BEEN 
WORKING QUIETLY TO EDUCATE JOURNALISTS AND OPINION MAKERS ON 
THE POTENTIAL COSTS OF A BOYCOTT.  INFORMAL OPINION IN AMMAN 
HAS CLAIMED THAT CONTINUED CALLS FOR THE ECONOMIC BOYCOTT 
ARE STRONGEST AMONG THE YOUTH WHO MAY SEEK TO TARGET THE 
MOST OBVIOUS SYMBOLS OF AMERICA SUCH AS FAST FOOD AND 
CLOTHING OUTLETS.  EVEN THOUGH PUBLIC OPINION IS STILL 
DIVIDED IN JORDAN, BURGER KING'S LEAFLET DEMONSTRATES HOW 
SOME COMPANIES MAY FEEL PRESSURE TO BE PRO-ACTIVE IN 
RESPONDING TO THE BOYCOTT DEBATE. 
 
GNEHM