Americans Opposed to Ports Sale to Dubai

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans are decidedly opposed to the deal approved by the Bush administration that would put a United Arab Emirates state-owned company in charge of operations in six seaports in the United States. According to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, only 17% favor the sale, while 66% are opposed, including 45% who "strongly" oppose it.

Do you favor or oppose this proposed sale [of cargo operations at several major U.S. seaports to a company from the United Arab Emirates]? Do you [favor/oppose] it strongly or only moderately?

The issue has drawn the attention of most Americans, with 36% saying they are following it "very" closely and another 37% following it "somewhat" closely. This degree of attention puts the issue in the top quarter of all issues Gallup has measured over the past decade and a half.

How closely have you been following the news about the proposed sale of cargo operations at several major U.S. seaports to a company from the United Arab Emirates -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

A principal concern of the public is the security implication of having a foreign country in charge of operations that are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Overall, 75% of Americans believe that the ports deal would create a threat to the United States, with 39% believing it would be a major threat, and 36% a minor threat. Only 16% believe the deal poses no threat.

If this proposed sale went through, do you think it would create a major threat to U.S. security, a minor threat, or no threat at all?

Americans would be far less worried if the cargo operations were run by Great Britain (as is currently the case), but they worry not only about Arab countries that are friendly to the United States, but also about an ally as close as France, and about China.

Do you think the federal government should -- or should not -- allow companies from each of the following countries to own cargo operations at U.S. seaports? How about companies from -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

By a substantial majority, 71% to 26%, Americans favor allowing a British company to own cargo operations at U.S. seaports, but they are divided about French companies -- 45% in favor, 50% opposed. Clear majorities oppose the same arrangements for companies based in friendly Arab countries (56%) and in China (65%).

Most Americans (69%) deny that opposition to the ports deal reflects discrimination against Arabs, saying the controversy stems from concerns about the national interest instead. Twenty-two percent say the controversy is about discrimination.

Just your best guess, do you think the proposed sale of U.S. seaport operations to the United Arab Emirates company is controversial mainly -- [ROTATED: because of discrimination against Arabs, (or mainly) because it is a deal that is not in the best interest of the United States]?

Still, the public appears wary of Arab countries in general. While 45% of Americans would trust Arab and Muslim countries that are allies of the United States the same as other U.S. allies, 51% say the United States should treat its Arab and Muslim allies with less trust.

Which comes closer to your view about Arab and Muslim countries that are allies of the United States -- [ROTATED: the U.S. should trust them the same as any other ally, (or) the U.S. should trust them less than its other allies]?

Attentive Public

The poll finds that the more closely people have followed news about the ports deal, the more strongly opposed they are to it. Sixty-three percent of people paying "very" close attention are "strongly" opposed, compared with 46% who are strongly opposed among those following the issue "somewhat" closely, and just 20% among people not following it closely. There is also a slight tendency for the more attentive to favor the deal, but not by much. Net opposition is still greater among the more attentive than the less attentive public.

Similarly, the more closely people follow the issue, the more likely they are to believe the deal would pose a security threat to the United States and that other foreign countries should not be allowed to own cargo operations at U.S. seaports.

Partisan Issue

Although there are partisan differences on the issue of the ports deal, even Republicans are opposed, 53% to 27%. The margins are much larger among independents (69% to 16%) and Democrats (76% to 8%).

About half of Democrats and of independents are "strongly" opposed, compared with 32% of Republicans.

Similarly, large majorities of all three groups believe the deal would pose a security threat to the United States, with 65% of Republicans, 77% of independents, and 84% of Democrats expressing that view. However, while 48% of Democrats and 41% of independents say the threat would be "major," just 27% of Republicans agree.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,020 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 28 to March 1, 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.