Trump Administraion Urges EU Companies With US Contracts To Rollback Their DEI Programs

The Trump administration is urging some large companies in the EU to comply with executive orders to end DEI programs. Government officials have allegedly sent letters to companies in France and the European Union with US government contracts, stating that they should ban DEI initiatives if they want to hold on to their contracts, according to The Financial Times.

“Department of State contractors must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws and agree that such certification is material for purposes of the government’s payment decision and therefore subject to the False Claims Act,” the document states.

Letters sent to France and EU countries

The letters were sent by American embassies in Paris and across the EU and US diplomats in eastern EU states and Belgium. They featured a questionnaire instructing the companies to confirm their compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws.

Some French companies that have been told to comply with Trump’s executive orders include aviation and defense groups, consulting providers, and infrastructure.

How have European government officials responded?

Ministers from France and Belgium have firmly backed its DEI efforts, according to Politico. “It is out of the question that we will prevent our business from promoting additional social progress [and] social rights,” French Minister for Gender Equality Aurore Bergé said in an interview with BFMTV Sunday. “Thankfully, a lot of French companies don’t plan to change their policies,” she added.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Jan Jambon said, “We have no lessons to learn from the boss of America.” France’s trade ministry stated, “American interference in the inclusion policies of French companies, as well as unjustified threats of tariffs, are unacceptable.”

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