White House Urges US Space Firms to Skip Paris Summit

The Trump administration has reportedly urged American space companies to reconsider their attendance at an upcoming international space summit in Paris, according to sources familiar with the matter. The event, scheduled for September 9-10, is being organized by French President Emmanuel Macron.

During a call hosted by the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) about a week ago, officials communicated to several US firms that their presence at the summit could be interpreted as endorsing European policy stances that Washington opposes. While the officials did not issue an explicit directive to stay away, they made their preferences clear through strong suggestions against attending.

The summit is expected to feature speeches from Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It comes as European nations increase investments in both civil and military space capabilities, aiming to reduce their dependence on American companies, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, for satellite communications and launch services.

As a result of this pressure, some planned announcements between European and US companies have been cancelled, and SpaceX has decided not to attend, according to sources.

In response, an OSTP official stated that the administration continues to collaborate with allies in space and looks forward to productive conversations at the summit on priorities such as science missions, exploration, and space security.

France has described the event as an informal political summit intended to open dialogue among heads of state, decision-makers, and industry representatives from around 120 countries. It is not designed to make policy or budget decisions. Macron's office has not yet commented on the matter.