美國官員反對歐洲推動在當地購買武器 (2/2)

 Recently Yahoo News on line picked up the following:

US officials object to European push to buy weapons locally (2/2)

Reuters - Gram Slattery, John Irish and Daphne Psaledakis

Tue, April 1, 2025 at 10:04 p.m. PDT·4 min read

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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)

Translation

美國官員反對歐洲推動在當地購買武器 (2/2)

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美國政策拉向相反方向

美國對武器採購限制的擔憂反映出特朗普政府的歐洲政策核心的爭持緊繃狀態。

特朗普敦促歐洲盟友增加國防開支，並對自身安全負更大責任。鑑於美國總統表示他對北約的承諾並非絕對，歐盟正在考慮將製造業納入國內。

這與特朗普政府的另一個目標背道而馳，即國外市場向美國製造商開放。

歐盟委員會於三月中旬提出的國防提案，即 “重新武裝歐洲(ReArm Europe)” ，其中包括一項計劃，向歐盟各國政府借款 1500 億歐元（1620 億美元），用於國防項目。

許多歐盟政府表示，他們贊成採取泛歐洲的防禦方式。但其如何運作可能會成為激烈爭論的主題 - 誰應該有權決定聯合項目、誰應該管理這些項目以及如何為這些項目提供資金。

儘管歐盟委員會堅稱，根據擬議計劃，歐盟以外的公司有辦法競爭國防資金，但歐盟以外的武器製造商實際上將面臨許多實際和行政障礙。

與前幾屆政府一樣，特朗普政府先前也曾推動歐洲購買美國武器，包括在今年的慕尼黑安全會議上。一些消息來源認為華盛頓最近發出的信息是美國政策的延續。

不過，多位消息人士稱，隨著歐盟採取更果斷的行動去把武器採購脫鉤，美國近幾週對此事的重視程度有所提高。

一位歐洲資深消息人士表示： “他們對重新武裝歐洲方案及美國被排除在外感到不滿。”

              So, the U.S. wants European allies to keep buying American-made arms. The Trump administration's earlier foreign policy decisions, including briefly cutting military aid for Ukraine etc. have made European allies nervous, prompting many to ask if the United States is a reliable partner. Apparently, arms buying is potentially a bargaining chip for the EU to negotiate over the US tariffs. Foreign policy often is a game of give and take.