A coalition of Republican attorneys general urged President Donald Trump to prevent the European Union’s (EU) corporate sustainability directive from imposing “severe burdens” on American companies, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
While commending the administration for making “great progress combating ESG and DEI initiatives” at home, the attorneys general told Trump the EU directive will impose similar requirements on American companies that are opposed to his administration’s priorities and U.S. law.
“The corporate sustainability directive’s disclosure requirements are extensive and burdensome, diverting American companies’ time and energy away from investment, wage growth, and other valuable activities—all in the name of the radical green agenda,” Attorneys General James Uthmeier of Florida and John McCusky of West Virginia, along with twenty others, wrote in the letter Tuesday.
“Its purpose is to disincentivize fossil fuels, investment, and economic growth, and to put bureaucrats in Brussels in charge of policies directing American operations,” the letter continues. “This cannot stand.”
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EU Regulations Letter by Katelynn Richardson
“President Trump has shown tremendous leadership protecting American jobs and pushing back against foreign overreach,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “These EU requirements are nothing more than a backdoor attempt to force the radical green agenda on American companies. Without intervention, this will divert resources away from investment, job creation, and wage growth, while putting bureaucrats in Brussels in charge of U.S. business decisions.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two regulations, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), could create problems for American companies, the attorneys general argue.
Companies subject to the CSRD must “publish regular reports on the social and environmental risks they face.” Under the CSDDD, companies must address “adverse human rights and environmental” impacts of their operations and adopt “a transition plan for climate change mitigation,” according to the EU website.
The CSDDD allows for “aggressive government enforcement” through penalties and a private right of action against companies that do not fully comply, according to the letter.
The White House issued a statement in August on its trade framework agreement with the EU, which included a commitment to ensure the regulations “do not pose undue restrictions on transatlantic trade.” The attorneys general urged the administration to take “more specific measures.”
“Not only does it cost U.S. companies financially, it threatens American jobs by creating disincentives for American companies that invest in or utilize fossil fuels,” the letter continues. “And worse, it creates potential liability for companies who do not wish to partake in this climate radicalism. Just as you ordered your Administration to protect Americans from state overreach, we ask that you protect Americans from European overreach.”
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