Donald Trump has returned a double victory at the NATO Summit in The Hague: he has increased the expenses of Europeans for defense to 5% of GDP and made sure that much of the amounts invested will go to American companies, explains Iulia Joja.
Donald Trump negotiated “blood” with Europeans. Photo: Inquam/Eduard Vântoru
The Rearm Europe project that provides for investments of 800 billion in the defense of EU, with a large component centered on the development of the European weapons industry, means fewer bought weapons.
This did not go unnoticed in the Trump administration, which has found the opportunity to make sure that Europe will continue to buy, massively, US weapons on the occasion of the NATO summit in The Hague.
Allies have hardly decided to agree on 5 points in the common statement, and one of them is related to American weapons, says Security Expert Iulia Joja, a teacher at Georgetown University (Washington) and researchers at Middle East Institute, specialized in European and Black Sea security.
This is about Article 4 of the common NATO member countries:
“We reaffirm our common commitment to rapidly expand transatlantic cooperation in the field of defense and to capitalize on emerging technologies and the spirit of innovation to promote our collective security. We will act to eliminate commercial barriers in the field of allies and we will capitalize on our partnerships to promote cooperation in the field of defense.”
“We promise to continue to buy from Americans”
“It did not comment very much on this provision. One of the stressors of the Americans was, in addition to the requirement that Europeans will spend enough for the arming, and where this money will be spent. They gave them what the Rearm program means and they started to ask if the Europeans will invest this money in the European or American capabilities.explains the expert.
The most important is the second sentence of the paragraph, says Thursday. Formulation “V.Man worked to eliminate trade barriers in terms of defense between allies and we will use partnerships to promote industrial defense cooperation ” It is performed by Iulia Joja: “It is a clarification that denotes the fact that Americans will have lower rates and will ensure by this point 4 that Europeans will continue to buy much of the military capabilities in the United States. ”
The specialist says that this provision serves the American interest immediately because the most important market for the sale of American defense products is Europe.
“Of course you can interpret that the provision also refers to trade between European countries, only that there are no tax barriers in Europe, because we have a unique market. It is clear that this paragraph was requested by the Americans and probably formulated by the Americans ”explains Joja.
Expert summarizes the NATO joint statement from The Hague: “In paragraph 5, the following summit is announced. In paragraph 1 S states compliance with Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which stipulates that an attack on a NATO member is an attack on all, an important provision and the most important message for Russia. Paragraphs 2 and 3 refers to 5% of GDP for defense plus Ukraine, which is included in that 5%, which is in that paragraph 4 “We promise to continue to buy from the Americans.”
Joja: “The US can lose at least one trillion of dollars”
Iulia Joja explains for “Adevărul”, in an interview in March, which would mean a Rearm Europe project for US manufacturers to be bypassed.
“Now, Europe has no interest in buying weapons from the US, for many reasons,” supported the Security specialist Iulia Joja.
She believes that the Ukrainians will adapt with weapons that are not produced in the US: “As they learned to fight with Patriot systems, Himars and American aircraft, they will learn on other systems. This is not the problem. “
Joja claims that US weapons industry would suffer if Europe will no longer buy:
“In the last three years of war, the Europeans have increased their defense budget by 31%. Too slow and insufficient, say the Americans, but we increased the military budget by 31%. With much of this military, small, medium, large budget, as we want, we bought weapons. Two-thirds of the acquisitions made in 2024, as an example, as an example.
At this time, the EU will continue to increase the military budget. “And we have this money, that I am a loan, that there is money on the table, we have some money put aside, in one way or another,” at least 800 billion euros.says Iulia Joja.
However, it is possible that in a first phase, says the expert, to make purchases from the US, if we do not find from other parts, but there will be no large amounts.
“In this context, this means that the Americans have lost hundreds of billion for the next few years. And this is the case in which, formally, the negotiations have not even started. So these are the costs that the Americans have already self-printed, a calculation that I said on the American TVs, to the American television stations. Donald Trump ”explained Thursday.
Under these conditions, Donald Trump what is he doing? “It imposes rates to the European Union which means for the American consumer and higher costs”, Answer Thursday.
What will happen if the US sell weapons to Russia
Can Americans open a commercial relationship with weapons with Russia? “It would be weird and leaving aside the political costs globally, from a financial point of view would be an extremely bad decision. be a historical catastrophic decision ”, Iulia Joja said.
Globally, the most important foreign and commercial policy relationship of the United States is that with Europe. “But the United States also has important important commercial power in other parts of the world and we look in particular in Japan, South Korea, Australia and other great commercial powers. These countries are as scared of what happens to the United States policy. And for years they are looking at this war. China or not?”, Explains the specialist.
Since the US disregards the most important relationship, namely with Europe, the conclusion that the US Asian partners and allies draw is that America has no reason to help them either.
“I did not see a rhetoric or aggressive policy opposite China in this trump term, but I saw it opposite allies and partners. That we are talking about Europe, that we are talking about Canada, very important and emblematic. Well, these countries have already made their choices. They are allied with Europe, not with the United States. United in Asia, he said that no matter what the United States will do, Japan will continue military aid for Ukraine ”shows Iulia Joja.
Even Turkey has argued that if the United States is withdrawn from NATO, it wants a new formation or replacement of the NATO format without Americans, the expert said.
“Thus, if the United States returns weapons against their own allies and partners, they have no reason to help the Turks or Japanese or Australians”, Concluded the specialist.
