What the TUC and UK trade unions are doing
Calling on the UK government to seek EU agreement
to impose a ban on the importing of goods produced in
the illegal settlements;
• Urging supermarkets not to stock such goods, or
failing that, to label them accurately; and
• Pressing the UK government to work with the EU and
supermarkets to ensure that goods are accurately
labelled.
• Supporting moves to suspend the EU-Israel
Association Agreement which provides preferential
trade facilities to Israel.
British connections with Israeli Trade union briefing
settlements
Over 50% of Israel’s agricultural produce is imported by
the European Union, of which a large percentage arrives in
British stores, including all the main supermarkets. These
include: Asda, Tesco, Waitrose, John Lewis, Morrisons, and
Sainsburys.
The Soil Association aids the occupation by providing
certification to settlement products.
In December 2009, following significant consumer pressure,
the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued
guidelines for supermarkets on settlement labeling —
differentiating goods grown in settlements from goods
grown on Palestinian farms. Although this guidance is not
compulsory, many supermarkets are already saying that they
will adopt this labeling, so consumers will know if goods
are grown in illegal Israeli settlements. DEFRA also stated
that companies will be committing an offence if they label
goods from settlements as produce of Israel. However, as
Phyllis Starkey MP pointed out in a parliamentary debate in
December 2009, “It is well known that Agrexco, the major
Israeli fruit and vegetable exporter, allows agricultural produce
from the settlements to be mixed with produce from within
Israel, with the whole then being exported as ‘made in Israel’.”
Unless the British government ends the sale of settlement
goods, and British companies stop stocking them, they are
continuing to economically support Israeli settlements. This
is why we are calling for targeted consumer campaigns. To
exercise real choice, consumers need to be fully and correctly
informed of the origin of the product.
