Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again.

So today, we're going to talk about Trump, the EU, and being careful what you wish for.

Trump and those people who have bought into the idea that European countries haven't pulled their weight,

have wanted, even demanded, that Europe starts spending more on defense.

Well, it looks like the EU is setting up to facilitate that. The European Commission has a loan

plan proposal worth $163 billion U.S. to help European countries buy more defense goods.

It would help countries with smaller budgets immensely.

It would also allow multiple countries to kind of bulk order together from defense suppliers.

Reports indicate they want to focus on planes, drones, and air defense.

A defense spending report from last year shows that roughly 63% of EU defense spending goes

to the U.S. So that's a cool $100 billion for the U.S. defense industry from Trump's

antics. Maybe he knows what he's doing

after all. Oh, wait. What's that fine print? The U.S. gets nothing, not a dime. Instead,

the current proposal looks like it will require all of the spending to be in Europe.

The Commission President said, quote,

These loans should finance purchases from European producers to help boost our own defense industry.

She went on to suggest multi-year contracts that provide stability for the industry. That suggests they are

absolutely expanding the industrial capacity for defense production. It looks like the loans will

serve two purposes. First, to help countries with more limited budgets. And second, to provide steady multi-year contracts

to European defense suppliers so they can expand. As anybody familiar with the U.S.

defense industry knows, once you make the determination to up that industrial capacity,

it's kind of a bell that can't be unwrung.

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