Ben & Jerry’s loses bid to stop sales in occupied Palestinian territories

The company announced last July it would no longer sell its ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying it was "inconsistent with our values," although it said it would sell its products in Israel.

In this file July 20, 2021, photo, trucks are parked at the Ben & Jerry's ice-cream factory in the Be'er Tuvia Industrial area in Israel. (Tsafrir Abayov / AP)

Ben & Jerry's has lost its bid to block its parent company Unilever from selling its ice cream in Israel occupied West Bank, which the US firm said would run counter to its values. The company, known for its political activism, took the unusual step of seeking an injunction after London-based Unilever announced it had sold its interest in the ice cream to an Israeli license-holder. However, a US federal judge ruled on Monday the ice cream company had "failed to demonstrate" that the move to sell the goods in the Israeli-occupied settlements caused it "irreparable harm." In July last year, Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's announced it would no longer sell its ice cream in occupied Palestine's territories, which Israel seized in 1967, saying it was "inconsistent with our values," although it said it would keep selling its products in Israel. However, Israeli license-holder Avi Zinger had continued to produce the ice cream in his factory in the suburbs of Tel Aviv and distribute it to the Israeli settlements, going against the company's decision. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in communities found illegal under international law. READ MORE: Why Ben & Jerry's decision scares the fudge out of Israel's leaders

Why is Ben & Jerry's ending sales in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories? pic.twitter.com/cqvFfo9NPt

— TRT World (@trtworld) July 20, 2021

US court: Too speculative On July 5, Ben & Jerry's asked that any agreement allowing distribution or sale of its products in the occupied West Bank be dissolved and that any further such transaction go before its board of directors to be given a green light. Unilever's decision was "made without the consent of Ben & Jerry's Independent Board," and goes against the merger agreement that gave the board the ability to protect the founder's values and reputation, the complaint said. However, US District Court Judge Andrew Carter Jr in Manhattan said the idea the company's messaging could be marred or customers could become confused about its core values was "too speculative." Founded in the United States in 1978, Ben & Jerry's is known for championing progressive causes, including protecting the environment and promoting human rights, and has frequently released special ice cream flavours to support causes or in protest. Contacted by AFP news agency on Monday, Ben & Jerry's declined to immediately comment on the decision. Unilever did not respond to an AFP request for comment. Source: AFP

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/ben-jerrys-loses-bid-to-stop-sales-in-occupied-palestinian-territories/?feed_id=14446&_unique_id=63041754e7225

Tesla's July sales of Chinese-made vehicles slide due to factory line upgrades

SHANGHAI: Tesla (TSLA.O) sold 28,217 Chinese-made vehicles in July, nearly two-thirds less than a month earlier as a scheduled upgrade to its factory lines in Shanghai disrupted production.

The U.S. carmaker exported 19,756 Model 3s and Model Ys from China last month, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)said. In June, it sold 78,906 vehicles and exported 968.

Tesla China usually exports more cars at the beginning of a quarter while focusing more on domestic sales at the end.

Tesla suspended most of its production at the Shanghai plant in July due to an upgrade that aims to bring the factory’s weekly output to around 22,000 units compared with levels of around 17,000 in June, according to internal memos seen by Reuters.

Read more: WhatsApp to soon get ‘login approval’ feature

The output ramp-up at Tesla’s most productive manufacturing hub comes after production losses during a two-month COVID lockdown in Shanghai hurt the company’s profit margin in the second quarter.

China’s overall passenger car sales in July jumped 20.1% from a year earlier to 1.84 million, the CPCA said.

Sales of electric cars accounted for 26.4% of the total in July and increased 117.3%, it added, with sales of plug-in hybrids outpacing pure electric cars.

The association now expects electric car sales for the whole year could reach 6 million units, higher than an earlier estimate of 5.5 million.

BYD (002594.SZ) led the EV players with 163,042 cars delivered in July, with plug-in hybrids accounting for more than half of its sales.

Nio , Xpeng (9868.HK) and Li Auto (2015.HK) delivered 10,052, 11,524 and 10,422 vehicles, respectively.

Sales of conventional hybrid cars in July also increased 81% from a year ago, with Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) leading the segment.

Comments

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/teslas-july-sales-of-chinese-made-vehicles-slide-due-to-factory-line-upgrades/?feed_id=8494&_unique_id=62f205b71b943