Stockholm’s city officials have firmly rejected a letter from the Trump administration that sought to impose a rollback of diversity initiatives. The letter asked that foreign municipalities and companies be held to the same standard. It has drawn national condemnation and sounded alarms over meddling with local control.
The fight started when Jan Valeskog, Stockholm’s vice-mayor for planning, opened the letter one Tuesday afternoon. The missive instructed recipients to sign and return a form certifying that they “do not operate any programmes to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.” Valeskog described the request as “bizarre” and expressed his surprise at the push from the US government, stating, “We were really surprised, because diversity, equality and inclusion are values that we strive for and stand up for in Stockholm.”
Since assuming office, the Trump administration has been very clear about its opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They’ve mandated the immediate shutdown of all U.S. federal diversity offices. This government crackdown extends internationally. It’s a big, across-the-board shot at foreign firms seeking to conduct business with the US government and pan-European in scope, including municipalities. European leaders have lamented and blasted the US for what could be their eventual approach. French officials have gone so far as to call the letter “a pretext for interference.”
Research has repeatedly found that companies with higher gender and ethnic diversity dramatically outperform their counterparts. Despite this clear evidence, the position taken by the Trump administration is part of a larger pattern of attacks on diversity initiatives. Stockholm officials have given little doubt as to their intentions. They adamantly assert that they will not follow the instructions set forth in that letter.
Valeskog asserted, “Of course, we’ll not sign it, we won’t return it, we’ll do nothing about it.” He insisted that the city’s political priorities would always come first, even over orders from foreign embassies. “It’s our political priorities that count, not the ones from this embassy or any other embassies,” he added.
Valeskog was still waiting for a reply from the US Embassy in Stockholm two days after submitting the missive. This particular embassy has historically had a close connection to the city. The absence of comment deepens the uncertainty over the letter’s intended purpose and potential impact.
“If you do not agree to sign this document, we would appreciate it if you could provide detailed reasons, which we will forward to our legal teams.” – excerpt from the letter received by Stockholm officials.
Last week’s developments demonstrate the continuing clash of US foreign policy under the Trump administration and European values. This discord is the crux of the issue of diversity and inclusion. The letter’s implications reach far beyond the borders of Stockholm, to hundreds of other companies and municipalities around Europe who got similar notices.