By Gram Slatter, John Irish and Daphne Psaledakis
Washington / Paris (Reuters) – US officials told European allies that they wanted them to continue to buy American manufacturing weapons in the midst of recent European Union to limit the participation of American manufacturers in calls for arms tenders, five sources familiar with the file told Reuters.
The messages delivered by Washington in recent weeks have come when the EU takes measures to stimulate the European weapons industry, while potentially limiting purchases of certain types of American weapons.
The first stages of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, in particular by briefly reducing military aid for Ukraine and raising pressure on Moscow, have deeply annoyed European allies, which has prompted a lot to ask if the United States is a reliable partner.
In mid-March, the European Commission, the EU executive body proposed to stimulate military spending and the pooling of resources for joint defense projects, as gourds in Europe for a decrease in American military engagement under President Donald Trump.
Some of the proposed measures could mean a smaller role for EU companies, including those based in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to experts.
At a meeting on March 25, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia foreign ministers that the United States wanted to continue to participate in the defense of EU countries, sources told Reuters.
According to two of the sources, Rubio said that any exclusion from American companies from European calls for tenders would be seen negatively by Washington, which these two sources have interpreted as a reference to the EU rules proposed.
A northern European diplomat, who was not part of the Baltic meeting, said they were also recently informed by US officials that any exclusion from EU weapons acquisitions would be considered inappropriate.
Rubio plans to discuss expectations that the EU countries continue to buy American weapons during his visit to Brussels this week, where he will attend the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, said a senior official of the State Department.
“This is a point that the secretary has raised and will continue to raise,” said the official.
A spokesman for the State Department said that Trump is hosting the recent efforts of European allies to “strengthen their defense capacities and assume responsibility for their own security”, but warned of the creation of new obstacles that exclude American companies from European defense projects.
“The industrial cooperation of transatlantic defense makes the alliance stronger,” said the spokesperson.
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Estonia did not respond to requests for comments. The Lithuania Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refused to comment.
American policy is due to opposite directions
The American concern about the limits of weapons purchases reflects tension at the Center for Policy in Europe of the Trump Administration.
Trump urged European allies to spend more in defense and to assume greater responsibility for their own security. In doing so, the EU seeks to provide internal manufacturing in the light of the suggestions of the American president that his commitment to NATO is not absolute.
This goes against another Trump administration objective, which is to open foreign markets to American manufacturers.
The defense of the European Commission’s mid-March, nicknamed Rearm Europe, included a plan to borrow 150 billion euros ($ 162 billion) for EU loans to spend for defense projects.
Many EU governments say they are in favor of a more pan -European approach to defense. But the way it would work would probably be the subject of a fierce debate – on which should have the power to decide on joint projects, which should manage them and how they should be funded.
Although the Commission insists that there are means for companies outside the EU to compete with the defense funds within the framework of the proposed plan, the manufacturers of weapons outside the block would be confronted with a number of practical and administrative obstacles.
The Trump administration – like previous administrations – has already put pressure on European weapons from the US weapons, including the Munich security conference this year. Some sources consider Washington’s recent messages as a continuation of American policy.
However, several sources have declared that the emphasis put in the United States on the issue has intensified in recent weeks, while the EU has moved more decisively to decouple its purchases of weapons.
“They are upset by the rearmament proposal and that the United States is excluded,” said a main European source.
(Report of Gram Slattery and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, John Irish in Paris; additional report by Lili Bayer in Brussels; edition of Don Durfee and Leslie Adler)
