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The Trump administration has sent a letter to certain large EU companies warning them to comply with an executive decree prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The letter, sent by the American Embassy to Paris and others around the EU, said Donald AssetThe executive decree applied to companies outside the United States if they were a supplier or service provider to the United States government, according to three people familiar with the issue.
The embassies also sent a questionnaire which ordered companies to attest to their compliance. The document, which the Financial Times has seen, is entitled “Certification concerning compliance with the applicable anti-discrimination law”.
The document said: “Entrepreneurs from the Ministry of State must certify that they do not organize any program promoting Dei which violates applicable anti-discrimination laws and agree that this certification is important for the government’s payment decision and therefore subject to the law on false complaints.”
The letter was also sent by American diplomats to EU and Belgium, said people.
The documents seem to point out that the Trump administration is expanding its campaign against Dei to foreign companies after launching a repression against American media groups such as Disney.
A main banker in Paris said he was shocked by the letter. “It’s crazy … But everything is now possible. The strongest rule prevails now.”
The French Ministry of Finance expressed its concerns after some of the companies involved informed him of this decision.
“This practice reflects the values of the new American government. They are not the same as ours,” said a person close to FranceThe Minister of the Economy, Eric Lombard. “The ministry will recall its counterparts in the United States government.”
The existence of the letter was reported for the first time by the newspapers Les Echos.
The extraterritorial decision may not be enforceable according to the initial legal assessments, so that some leaders and their advisers have decided not to answer for the moment, said two of the people.
This comes in the midst of growing tensions between the Trump administration and Europe on economic and security policy while America is moving away from its traditional allies, in particular on the trade and invasion of Russia on the scale of Ukraine.
Trump This week imposed an additional 25% levy on imports from the automotive sector in the United States and increased tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports. The EU works on reciprocal prices in response, but has not yet decided which products are targeting.
The attitude of Trump officials to Europe was launched this week when messages on American attacks in Yemen have been disclosed to the American media. “I just hate to jump Europe again,” wrote Vice-President JD Vance in a group of sign cats. “It’s pathetic,” replied the defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
France has not traditionally been a place where the DEI programs took root due to legal limitations on the collection of racial and ethnic data. Employers are not allowed to take into account the origins of people in job or promotion decisions.
French companies potentially exposed to American requests include aviation and defense groups, consulting providers and infrastructure companies. The FT could not immediately determine which companies had received the letter.
According to the echoes, the letter concluded: “If you do not agree to sign this document, we will be grateful if you could provide us with detailed reasons, which we will send to our legal service.”
