The US embassy in The Hague has contacted its suppliers, asking them to declare whether their diversity policies align with US president Donald Trump’s so-called “anti-diversity decree”, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday.

The embassy confirmed it had sent the letter, and Dutch trade minister Reinette Klever has also said Dutch companies had received it, the FD said. “This pressure from the US government is unwanted and unasked for,” Klever said.

The letter includes a form asking companies to state whether their policies are in line with the Trump administration and specifically refers to the anti-diversity decree signed by the president on the first day of his second term.

Earlier this week, it was reported that companies in France, Spain and Belgium had received similar letters, but that reporting suggested all companies doing business with the US were affected.

“This only affects companies that have or want to have contracts with our missions,” embassy spokeswoman Addie Schroeder told the paper. Companies are only being asked to “certify” that they comply with the “appropriate federal anti-discrimination laws operating in the US,” she said.

She explicitly referred to Executive Order 14173, the anti-diversity decree officially titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”, the FD said. Schroeder also said that in practice, the order is unlikely to apply to many companies.

Marc ter Haar, director of US company lobby group AmCham, advised companies not to respond immediately.

“It is very unclear whether Trump’s decree will pass domestic legal tests,” he told the paper. “The policy would appear to be aimed at creating maximum attention and fuss.”

However, companies with major business interests in the US would also be wise to seek legal advice and prepare multiple strategic scenarios, he said. “It’s smart to have a few plans ready.”

Paperwork

The US embassy told Dutch News the letter only asks contractors and grantees around the world to certify their compliance with applicable US federal anti-discrimination laws.

“For a foreign company operating outside the US, there are generally no US federal anti-discrimination laws that are applicable to them unless they are controlled by a US employer and employ US citizens,” the embassy said.

“We are just asking them to complete one additional piece of paperwork.”