Letter Advancing Human Rights and Fair Trade in Qatar

Ken Blackwell

July 6, 2019

The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Over the last two and a half years, you have taken strong action to enhance the security and interests of American companies and industries. In your many dealings with foreign leaders, you have not shied away from doing what was necessary to protect American interests and global security.

We write to you because your upcoming meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, presents an opportunity for you to raise a number of key concerns for our nation and to ensure that Qatar understands America’s resolve.

While Qatar has tried to portray itself as a U.S. ally, it is engaged in many troubling activities. Qatar has been a major funder of terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU and has committed countless acts of violence against our ally Israel. Your administration has designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization as well. The Brotherhood has engaged in violence and persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt and has been a supporter of global terror.

A nation who supports these types of terrorist organizations cannot consider itself a U.S. ally and that message should be delivered firmly.

Living up to its trade commitments to the United States – an issue that we know you are passionate about - is another area that must be addressed in your meeting. For years, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates violated their commitments under the Open Skies agreements by subsidizing their airlines. These subsidies allowed their airlines to compete unfairly against our airline industry, putting American companies and jobs at risk.

For years, the Obama administration did nothing to address this problem, despite bipartisan calls for action. Your administration, on the other hand, refused to stand idly by. You negotiated critical deals to ensure compliance with these agreements, protecting the American airline industry. However, in recent months, it has become clear that Qatar Airways is violating the commitments it made to your administration by using its stake in Air Italy as a proxy. In addition, the government of Qatar continues to heavily subsidize its airline and to shield its financial reporting from the transparency it committed to.

Once again, members of Congress on both sides have called for strong action to ensure Qatar’s compliance with these trade agreements. We cannot allow these nations to use loopholes to flout competition and endanger American industries. Secretary Pompeo has rightly recognized the seriousness of this issue and has made clear that it is being looked at closely.

While you are meeting with the Emir, we hope you use this opportunity to raise these issues in-person and communicate the resolve of the American people.

Thank you,

The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission

Mrs. Jenny Beth Martin
President, Tea Party Patriots

Mr. Rick Manning
President, Americans for Limited Government

Cc: The Honorable John M. Mulvaney
White House Chief of Staff

Mr. Jared Kushner
Senior Adviser to the President of the United States

Mr. Marc Short
Assistant to the President of the United States,
Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States
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We know it’s complicated, but we should never miss an opportunity to communicate our values and advance our advocacy for a level playing field.

We are confident President Trump will seize the opportunity!
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Ken Blackwell (@kenblackwell) is a former ambassador to the U.N., a former Domestic Policy Advisor to the Trump/Pence Presidential Transition Team, and former Ohio State Treasurer and mayor of Cincinnati who currently serves on the boards of numerous conservative policy organizations. He is a contributing author to the ARRA News Service

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