Mr. Alan Shatter:

I wish to add two brief points that are relevant because they arise directly out of the committee's meetings. I followed the committee's meetings involving departmental officials. Like Ms Hausdorff, I am familiar with the United States law. Both federal and state law create huge difficulties for American companies operating in a state that boycotts a single state, such as Israel. I was astonished when I followed the committee's meetings involving departmental officials by two things Mr. Keown from the Department said in response to appropriate questions by a member of the committee. He said the Department had not yet produced its regulatory impact assessment and that it was only now having regard to and looking at the relevance of United States law to the draft Bill. I would have thought that was an essential prerequisite before it was published and before this committee concludes its work. It is absolutely crucial that the regulatory impact assessment be seen by the committee and that the committee be fully briefed on the negative impacts this could have, not just on American companies located here but in their expansion and on new companies coming here.