American defence contractors and the US government are mounting a joint campaign to thwart European efforts to shut them out of the continent's rapidly expanding defence market. The US Department of Defense and State Department have submitted formal representations to a European Commission consultation on defence procurement rules, warning Brussels that any preference for European suppliers in future legislation would trigger retaliatory measures against European firms.  Europe is in the midst of a historic rearmament drive, with the EU's €150 billion SAFE lending programme and a €90 billion loan to Ukraine representing procurement opportunities on a massive scale. Almost two-thirds of the bloc's imported weapons currently come from American suppliers which European policymakers are seeking to change. The US submission deploys several classic pressure points. First, it frames prioritising European arms as a threat to relations between America and the US. Second, it invokes the US-...