YOU DON'T SPIT INTO THE WIND:

Patriotism puts hole in German shoe-sole deal (Andrew Hill and Bertrand Benoit, March 7 2003, Financial Times)

Geopolitics has intruded into the obscure world of shoe sole sales, with the first publicly documented case of a US company scrapping a German business deal because of Berlin's opposition to an attack on Iraq.

Enefco, a Maine-based buyer of leatherboard - used in shoes and belts - has cancelled a L25,000-a-month ($27,494-a-month) contract with Lederett, a small east German company, citing "the lack of support for the US by the Federal Republic of Germany".

Enefco - whose internet home-page features an animated US flag and the legend "God Bless America" - confirmed on Friday it had withdrawn from the contract but said Norman Farrar, its owner, would not comment further.

German business organisations have long warned that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's opposition to US foreign policy is damaging trade relations. But they have not cited specific cases of US companies wrapping themselves in the stars-and-stripes and turning down business with German companies. In the US, some Republican senators have called for trade sanctions against Germany and France, and a number of popular protests have gained publicity.

In or household, no one's allowed to listen to "99 Luft Balloons" anymore. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 8, 2003 9:25 PM