U.S. Executives Are Flocking to Saudi Davos in the Desert

Last week, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, reminded American companies to take into account “reputational concerns that can arise from public policy choices made by host countries” when making decisions about where to invest.

Still, Richard Attias, the organizer of the Saudi conference, made a point of telling reporters in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week that he had received so many requests from Americans to attend the event that his team had begun turning them down for lack of space.

At the same time, Mr. Biden’s plan for meting out the threatened consequences against Saudi Arabia has remained vague in the weeks since he delivered the warning.

His selection for ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Michael Ratney, has been delayed by Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, over concerns that the kingdom has helped its citizens flee the United States after committing violent crimes.

Since the OPEC Plus decision, Mr. Khanna and other Congress members have pushed for legislative changes to punish Saudi Arabia, including a blanket one-year ban on weapons and munitions sales and an initiative known as “NOPEC” that would allow the Justice Department to sue the cartel over alleged anticompetitive practices.

Negotiations that began during the Trump administration over allowing the kingdom to use U.S. technology to construct nuclear power plants are almost certain to face objections from some Congress members, who must approve any such agreement.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/world/middleeast/saudi-davos-in-desert.html