US warns against ‘protectionism’ with new EU defense agreement

BRUSSELS ― A top American diplomat is concerned that a new European Union defense agreement could lead to “protectionism” that could ice American firms out of sales in Europe.

Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. permanent representative to NATO, on Tuesday issued a preemptive warning about the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) on security and defense, an EU initiative launched late last year which could potentially lead to joint procurement of European defense products.

“Certainly, we do not want this to be a protectionist vehicle for EU. And we’re going to watch carefully because if that becomes the case, then it could splinter the strong security alliance that we have” Hutchison said.

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