SpaceX and its rival Blue Origin are among four US companies to have cancelled attendance at a Paris space summit next week, France\u2019s ministry for higher education, research and space said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Stoke Space and Starcloud also pulled out, it added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard not to link it to the rumours of pressure,\u201d a ministry spokesperson told AFP. Politico reported earlier that the White House was pressuring American space firms to ditch the meeting on Sept. 9 and 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe obviously want to continue working with our U.S. partners and allies, even though strategic about-turns and political pressures sometimes make the task needlessly complex,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n
Politico reported that, in a private call, a White House official had told companies — including billionaire Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX, Stoke Space, K2 Space and Astra — that attending the two-day event \u201ccould look like tacit support for EU policy positions\u201d, three anonymous sources familiar with the call told Politico.<\/p>\n
The White House official also told industry representatives that \u201cFrance did not coordinate with the U.S. on the summit, accused the country of \u2018anti-competitive practices\u2019, and suggested the event\u2019s panels were not designed to include the American perspective and may diminish U.S. industry efforts,\u201d said Politico\u2019s sources.<\/p>\n
Politico said two of the sources were connected to space companies and the third was in politics.<\/p>\n
The White House did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the story.<\/p>\n
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