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The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to retaliate against European countries if the EU favors domestic arms manufacturers in an effort to rearm the continent.
The US Department of Defense opposed any EU attempt to restrict access of US arms manufacturers to the European market and warned that this would trigger a reciprocal response.
The administration made these previously unreported remarks in a contribution to a European Commission consultation earlier this month, after the EU executive branch sought feedback from governments and industry on European arms procurement rules.
“The United States strongly opposes any changes to the Directive that would limit the ability of U.S. industry to support or participate in national defense procurements of EU member states. Protectionist and exclusionary policies that force U.S. companies out of the market, when Europe’s largest defense firms continue to benefit greatly from market access in the United States, are the wrong course of action ,” the U.S. administration wrote ahead of a planned update of EU defense procurement laws.
Washington's comments highlight a paradox in the US 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 US does not want this to come at the expense of American defense firms.
POLITICO previously reported that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau sharply criticized European NATO allies for prioritizing their defense industries over U.S. arms suppliers during a closed-door meeting in December. The State Department co-signed the Trump administration’s contribution to the Commission’s survey.
In recent years, the European Commission has sought to increase the share of European weapons in the bloc’s arsenals and procurement contracts as it prepares for potential conflict with Russia. For decades, the continent has relied heavily on American military equipment, from F-35 fighter jets to HIMARS artillery systems and Patriot air defenses. Almost two-thirds of the bloc’s imported weapons come from the United States.
Such strong opposition from the Trump administration also threatens to complicate any broader efforts by the Commission to buy European industrial products. It will test how far European countries are willing to go to become more independent of the US, which has become an increasingly unreliable partner in the Trump era.
The EU executive is expected to present an update of the 2009 procurement directive in the third quarter, amid a broader and controversial push for more “Buy European”-style rules. It is still unclear whether the new text will include binding rules to favor domestic producers.
The EU is already favoring domestic companies in projects such as the €150 billion SAFE arms loan program and for arms purchases that Ukraine can make with the €90 billion loan recently agreed for Kiev. EU money can only be used to buy military equipment if at least 65 percent of the value of the equipment is sourced in Europe.
The Pentagon warned in its contribution that any move to include a strong "Buy European products" clause in future procurement legislation would trigger retaliation from the US.
“If European preferential measures were to be implemented in the national procurement laws of member states, the United States would likely review all exceptions and waivers to the ‘Buy American’ laws provided for in or made in connection with our Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreements ,” the Department of Defense wrote.
In effect, this means that the US will close access to European companies. Some 19 of the 27 EU capitals have signed such agreements with Washington, which allow European companies to compete for some Pentagon contracts.
"Subsequently, any future exceptions will be reviewed on a contract-by-contract basis and only when deemed necessary to support NATO interoperability and standardization requirements," the US stressed.
While the Pentagon buys materials primarily from American companies, European firms such as Italy's Leonardo and Sweden's Saab also sell to the US.
According to Washington, a "Buy European Arms" clause for national procurement would limit the freedom of capitals, weaken NATO and jeopardize the ability of European countries to meet the alliance's capability goals agreed last year. The US administration also claims that it would run counter to the EU's commitments under the US-EU trade deal signed last summer, in which the European Commission pledged to buy more US weapons.
“The language of European preference is already featured in all EU programs, but its inclusion in the Directive would be a turning point in the impact on the sovereign and national budgets of individual member states ,” the Trump administration wrote.
The Pentagon and State Department's message was also echoed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. While the tone is softer, the organization also warns in its contribution against a European bias.
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