A group of Republican attorneys general is urging big tech companies not to submit to European Union (EU) mandates that are “unlawful in America,” according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In letters to Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Unilever, sixteen attorneys general asked the companies to “prioritize America” over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals imposed by the EU.
“American companies must still follow American laws, no matter what European elites may think,” the group led by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote.
READ:
AG Letter on European Union Directives by Katelynn Richardson
Uthmeier told the DCNF that “some in corporate America have an unfortunate history of embracing and promoting DEI and ESG initiatives.”
“If these companies decide to lean in on the EU’s discriminatory and destructive policies, there will be consequences here at home,” Uthmeier said.
The letter highlights two EU directives, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), that apply to American companies.
Under the CSRD, companies must “publish regular reports on the social and environmental risks they face.” The CSDDD directs companies to address “adverse human rights and environmental” impacts of their operations and adopt “a transition plan for climate change mitigation,” according to the EU website.
Europe’s regulations “are a burden on U.S. commerce and dampen the economy,” the attorneys general argue.
“They would cost American jobs, expose American companies to additional litigation, harm American energy development, and otherwise stoke perverse economic incentives detrimental to American industry and consumers alike,” they wrote. “Companies like yours should not allow bureaucrats in Brussels to direct your company’s policies and operations here in America.”
Uthmeier, along with Attorney General John McCusky of West Virginia, led a letter in September warning President Donald Trump about the burdens the EU regulations could impose on American companies.
The White House’s August statement on its trade framework agreement with the EU included a commitment to ensure the regulations “do not pose undue restrictions on transatlantic trade.”
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