Pentagon aggressively lobbies EU against Buy European weapons push

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened to retaliate against European countries if the EU favors domestic weapons-makers in a drive to rearm the continent.

The U.S. Department of Defense objected to any EU effort to limit American arms-manufacturers’ access to the European market and warned that would trigger a reciprocal response.

The administration made the previously unreported remarks in a contribution to a European Commission consultation earlier this month, after the EU’s executive branch requested feedback from governments and industry on European weapons procurement rules.

The United States strongly opposes any changes to the Directive that would limit U.S. industry’s ability to support or otherwise participate in EU member state national defense procurements,” the U.S. administration wrote ahead of a planned update of EU defense procurement laws.

“Protectionist and exclusionary policies that strong-arm American companies out of the market — when Europe’s largest defense firms continue to greatly benefit from market access in the United States — are the wrong course of action,” it added.

Washington’s comments highlight a paradox in the U.S. approach to Europe: While the Trump administration has repeatedly told Europeans that it wants them to shoulder the bulk of the continent’s conventional defense, the U.S. doesn’t want that to come at the expense of American defense firms.

POLITICO previously reported that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau slammed European NATO allies for prioritizing their own defense industry over American arms suppliers during a closed-door meeting in December. The State Department co-signed the Trump administration’s contribution to the Commission’s survey.

Over the past few years, the European Commission has been trying to increase the share of European weaponry in the bloc’s arsenals and procurement contracts while it braces for potential conflict with Russia. For decades, the continent has heavily relied on American military equipment, ranging from F-35 fighter jets to HIMARS artillery systems and Patriot air defenses. Almost two-thirds of the bloc’s imported weapons are supplied by the U.S.

Such forceful pushback from the Trump administration also threatens to complicate any broader Buy European industrial effort from the Commission. It will test how far European countries are willing to go in becoming more independent from the U.S., which has become an increasingly unreliable partner in the age of Trump.

The EU’s executive branch is expected to present an update of the 2009 procurement directive in the third quarter, amid a wider, controversial push for more Buy European rules. It’s still unclear whether the new text will include binding rules to favor homegrown manufacturers.

The EU is already favoring local companies in projects such as the €150 billion loans-for-weapons SAFE program and for arms purchases that Ukraine can make with the recently agreed €90 billion loan to Kyiv. EU money can be used to purchase military equipment only if at least 65 percent of the gear’s value is sourced in Europe.

US: “EuRoPe NeEdS tO sPeNd MoRe On DeFeNcE!!!!”

Europe: **buys locally**

US: “NO, NOT LIKE THAT!!!!”

At this point we have to ask: is America pretending to be this stupid? They cannot be serious.

At least previous fascists in history were competent, even if they were psychopaths… but this… this is the most pathetically weak and stupid bunch of wannabe strong-men we have ever seen.

Thank God they are so stupid.

America is in the last stages of FAFO of incompetant kakistocracy.

Maybe they could try being nice, agreeable and reliable instead of wasting taxpayer $$$ on lobbying against a train that’s already left the station.

What’s new – it’s the US government’s (including the DoD’s) job to promote nation interests (of which promoting domestic industries is a core component).

My 2 cents: 

1)) EU should include the requirement, that the weapons should be produced in EU, an the producing companies should comply all EU regulations. US firms are welcome, if they invest in production capacities within EU. 

2)) The orange deal artist will declare AI (& tech in general) as dual use items, and prohibit their export to the EU. Only then will understand most of the EU companies, how idiots they were using “someone elses computer”.

Oh no. That makea me buy US even less. At this point i would refuse all but free products.

Ah yes. Analogous to a dealer pushing hard for an addict not to go on rehab.