Stockholm rejects US letter urging city to reverse diversity initiatives

The Guardian

08-05-2025

A city official in Stockholm has said that the municipality has no plans to comply after one of its offices received a letter seeking to impose Donald Trump's rollback of diversity measures, in what is believed to be the first such missive sent to a foreign government.
'It's so bizarre,' said Jan Valeskog, Stockholm's planning vice mayor. 'It's our political priorities that count, not the ones from this embassy or any other embassies.'
In March, European officials lambasted the US after companies across the continent said they had received letters informing them that the Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives also applied to foreign firms looking to do business with the US government.
The letter – described by French officials as 'a form of interference' – asked recipients to complete, sign and return a form certifying that they 'do not operate any programmes to promote diversity, equity and inclusion'.
The letter also noted: '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.'
In Stockholm, Valeskog said he had received the letter on Tuesday. 'We were really surprised, because diversity, equality and inclusion are values that we strive for and stand up for in Stockholm,' he said. 'It's very important for us.'
He presumed that the letter was sent to the planning office because it was listed as a payee, given that it charges for building permits. Still, it was the first time he had heard of one of these letters being directed at a municipality or foreign government. 'It's quite unique,' he said.
After Valeskog spoke to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter about the letter, emails and social media responses came pouring in from city residents and others across Sweden. 'Thousands of people are really upset,' he said. 'I guess most people are following the news about what is happening in the States. But suddenly it felt closer with these demands.'
For months – despite research showing that companies with greater gender and ethnic diversity are more likely to significantly outperform their peers – Trump's administration has targeted efforts to ensure that people of all backgrounds, including historically marginalised groups such as women and people of colour, can gain a foothold and thrive at organisations.
Valeskog said Stockholm had no intention of complying. 'Of course, we'll not sign it, we won't return it, we'll do nothing about it,' he said. 'So now it's up to the embassy to decide what happens next.'
The spate of US letters come at a delicate moment for the transatlantic relationship, which has been left rattled by threats of escalating tariffs, security concerns and the Signal leaks that laid bare the Trump administration's disdain for Europe.
On Tuesday Valeskog called on the embassy, with whom they had traditionally had a good relationship, to withdraw the letter. Two days later, there had been no reaction. 'They don't have an ambassador, maybe that's the reason – I don't know,' he said.
After describing the fallout over the letter as 'their headache, not ours' earlier in the week, he again stressed that the US embassy stood to lose much more if they decided to break off their relationship with the municipality. 'The embassy now and then needs our building permits, of course, so it's in their interest to have a good contact and cooperation with the city of Stockholm,' he said. 'And so this is really strange.'
He said his office would continue to wait for some sort of response from the Americans. 'I mean it's quite big news, not only in Sweden but also in other countries,' he said. 'So we'll see what happens.'