"The United States powerfully opposes any changes to the Directive which would restrict the ability of the US manufacture to support or otherwise participate in national defence contracts of the EU associate States" - reported the US authorities in the consultation process to amend defence marketplace rules, [as quoted by Politico](https://www.politico.eu/article/washington-lobbies-eu-agains-buy-european-push-for-weapons-donald-trump/) - "Protective and excluding a policy that strong American companies will retreat from the marketplace - while the largest European defence companies proceed to benefit enormously from marketplace access in the United States - is simply a bad way to act" - added.
