The commercial showdown hired by the US administration with the rest of the world does not only go through customs duties. A letter sent a few days ago by American embassies to European companies throws oil on fire.
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In a missive addressed in particular to a few dozen French companies, the American Embassy in Paris requests them if they have internal programs to combat discrimination, explaining that this could prevent them from working with the United States.
Letter and questionnaire invite the companies referred to renouncing their policies to combat discrimination, their diversity, equality and inclusion programs. In particular, a decree taken by Donald Trump is cited there, from the first day of his return to the White House, to end the programs promoting equal opportunities within the federal state. This decree applies “necessarily” to all suppliers and providers of the federal government.
However, the American administration cannot demand from European companies that they comply with its law. Business lawyers explain that there is no legal extraterritoriality. French companies providing the United States government are therefore not forced to apply social law or the American federal law against positive discrimination. This letter is similar to economic pressure, threatening companies that do not meet these requirements not being able to renew the contracts that bind them to the United States government.
On the side of the big European capitals, it is a lifting of general shields. The French Ministry of the Economy has detained its arguments; The Danish Minister of Industry calls for a European response; Belgium says that it will not move a millimeter on the principle of diversity in society. Faced with this united front to defend qualified values of “non -negotiable” by Europeans, Washington specifies that the White House does not plan to carry out checks on the declarations returned by the companies referred to.
These companies must also respond to embassies. We are not yet there, even if these companies cannot ignore the threat of being hampered in its trade with the United States. In addition to customs duties, it is in legal ground that the American administration has obviously decided to also attack its commercial competitors. Another battle than European companies in general, French in particular, will have to lead.
