The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, led by Chairman Tim Scott alongside House Financial Services Committee leaders and Senator Bill Hagerty, published a letter urging the U.S. administration to push back against the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), citing risks to U.S. competitiveness and concerns about its extraterritorial reach. The lawmakers argue the CSDDD would impose stringent supply chain due diligence obligations tied to United Nations and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development principles that have not been ratified by Congress, potentially affecting U.S. companies and even small U.S.-based suppliers. They highlight expected compliance costs, increased litigation and enforcement exposure in EU member states, and penalties of up to five percent of global turnover. The letter calls for supporting European efforts to indefinitely pause the CSDDD, asserting its extraterritorial application is untenable, removing Article 29 on civil liability, and abandoning Article 22 on mandatory transition plans while clarifying U.S. companies are not bound by net zero transition plans of the type contemplated for EU firms.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 2025-02-27
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs leaders urge the administration to oppose the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, led by Chairman Tim Scott, urges the U.S. administration to oppose the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The committee cites concerns over U.S. competitiveness, extraterritorial reach, and potential compliance costs, litigation, and penalties for U.S. companies. The letter advocates pausing the CSDDD, removing certain articles, and clarifying that U.S. companies are not subject to EU-style net zero transition plans.