President Donald Trump’s administration has told allies in the UK and Europe that it wants them to buy American weapons and military equipment in order to maintain the Nato alliance, European officials familiar with the matter said.
The request has been made several times by US officials to their European counterparts in recent weeks, including in meetings between Nato allies that took place on the continent this week, the people said. Trump’s team also suggested it wanted Europe to buy more American energy in conversations about the security relationship, they added.
The implication was that the president could soften his demand that North Atlantic Treaty Organization members spend 5% of economic output on defense if Europe increased its interoperability with the US military and invested more with American companies, several of the people said.
“President Trump and his administration are engaging our Nato allies to ensure all members carry their share of the burden and meet their defense spending obligations,” US National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said. “Getting our allies to meet those obligations strengthens Nato.”
The development is the latest example of Trump’s transactional relationship with US allies, breaking with America’s traditional role as an unequivocal transatlantic security partner.
On Wednesday, hours before Trump stunned European leaders by announcing he’d agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to start negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Nato allies the US was no longer “the primary guarantor of security in Europe.”
See also: EU targets €26 billion of US products in tariff retaliation
Trump has long argued that Europe needs to spend more on defense and his warnings to Nato that it could not rely on the US became a recurring theme during his first administration.
More US Contracts
In recent weeks, American officials have signalled that they want closer interoperability between the US, British and European militaries with regard to missile systems, ammunition, artificial intelligence and cyber warfare, according to people familiar with the discussions.
See also: Ray Dalio cites 1930s Germany to assess unfolding trade war
That would likely require European nations to forge more contracts with American defense companies, posing difficult decisions on procurement for leaders on the continent.
European Union capitals have been arguing over whether they should limit procurement to European suppliers – who won’t be ready to deliver some of the weapons they need for years – rather than working with the UK or buying from the US.
Bloomberg Economics calculates that protecting Ukraine and expanding Europe’s own militaries could cost the continent’s major powers an additional US$3.1 trillion over the next 10 years.
Buying American defense equipment could be a plausible strategy for some European countries like the UK, which remain off the pace in terms of being able to build their own capabilities in many areas, according to one defense industry executive.
However, there would be doubts in Europe about allowing their military capabilities to become too reliant on American technology, especially in light of Trump’s overarching approach to the defense of Europe, they added.
