US officials object to European push to buy weapons locally

By Gram Slattery, John Irish and Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON/PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. officials have told European allies they want them to keep buying American-made arms, amid recent moves by the European Union to limit U.S. manufacturers' participation in weapons tenders, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The messages delivered by Washington in recent weeks come as the EU takes steps to boost Europe's weapons industry, while potentially limiting purchases of certain types of U.S. arms. 

The Trump administration's early foreign policy steps, including briefly cutting military aid for Ukraine and easing pressure on Moscow, have deeply unnerved European allies, prompting many to ask if the United States is a reliable partner. 

In mid-March, the European Commission, the EU's executive body, proposed boosting military spending and pooling resources on joint defense projects, as Europe girds for decreased U.S. military engagement under President Donald Trump. 

Some of the proposed measures could mean a smaller role for non-EU companies, including those based in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, experts say.

In a March 25 meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia that the United States wants to continue participating in EU countries' defense procurements, the sources told Reuters. 

According to two of the sources, Rubio said any exclusion of U.S. companies from European tenders would be seen negatively by Washington, which those two sources interpreted as a reference to the proposed EU rules.

One northern European diplomat, who was not part of the Baltic meeting, said they had also been recently told by U.S. officials that any exclusion from EU weapons procurements would be seen as inappropriate.

Rubio plans to discuss expectations that EU countries keep buying U.S. weapons during his visit to Brussels this week, where he will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, said a senior State Department official.

"It's a point the secretary has raised and will continue to raise," the official said.

A State Department spokesperson said Trump welcomes recent efforts from European allies to "strengthen their defense capabilities and take responsibility for their own security," but warned against creating new barriers that exclude U.S. companies from European defense projects.  

"Transatlantic defense industrial cooperation makes the Alliance stronger," the spokesperson said.

The foreign ministries of Latvia and Estonia did not respond to requests for comment. The foreign ministry of Lithuania declined to comment.    

U.S. POLICY PULLS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS

The U.S. concern about limits on arms purchases reflects a tension at the center of the Trump administration's Europe policy. 

Trump has urged European allies to spend more on defense and take greater responsibility for their own security. As it does so, the EU is looking to bring manufacturing in-house in light of the U.S. president's suggestions that his commitment to NATO is not absolute.

That runs counter to another Trump administration goal, which is to open foreign markets to U.S. manufacturers.

The mid-March defense proposal by the European Commission, dubbed ReArm Europe, included a plan to borrow 150 billion euros ($162 billion) for loans to EU governments to spend on defense projects.

Many EU governments say they are in favor of a more pan-European approach to defense. But how it would work is likely to be the subject of fierce debate - over who should have the power to decide on joint projects, who should run them and how they should be funded.

While the Commission insists there are ways for companies outside the EU to compete for defense funds under the proposed plan, arms manufacturers outside the bloc would in practice face a number of practical and administrative hurdles.

The Trump administration - like previous administrations - has pushed for European purchases of U.S. weapons before, including at this year's Munich Security Conference. Some of the sources consider the recent messages from Washington as a continuation of U.S. policy. 

Still, several sources said the U.S. emphasis on the matter has intensified in recent weeks as the EU has moved more decisively to decouple its weapons procurement.

"They are upset about ReArm proposal and that the U.S. is excluded," said one senior European source.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, John Irish in Paris; Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels; Editing by Don Durfee and Leslie Adler)