Portugal is first out on cancelling F35 citing "political uncertainty" (that is all about Trump's behavior the last few weeks): https://theaviationist.com/2025/03/13/portugal-f-35-plans/ Europe overall is starting to reroute defense orders that would normally have gone to the US while an (extra, not including national budgets) €0.8 trillion fund has just been allocated to defense spending.
Trump's own cabinet member and US commerce secretary reveals on air how Trump wants to unilaterally place tariffs on the world and also wants the world to love him for it.
The United States made billions of dollars supplying military armaments to NATO countries. It's the reason why the U.S. did not care about carrying the weight in NATO. Now that Trump threatens Europe with pulling out of NATO and with tariffs...Europe has no choice but to stop buying military armaments from the United States so that they can make their own. This is the military armament shift that many military experts said would happen under Trump long before Trump won a 2nd term. In fact, 2024 was the most spending by Europe on military armaments in response to Russia's expansion goals in many decades. Thus, the U.S. under Trump gets the goal of Europe spending more of their GDP but Trump didn't calculate it will be at the expense of our military companies in lost income because of the tariff bullshit. We're now seeing a military armaments shift to European defense companies who will financially benefit the most in using their GDP to strengthen their military without enriching the United States and those like Elon Mush who was on the brink of moving into the Defense sector to challenge other great U.S. Defense companies. Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, France who all led in defense spending in 2024 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has promise to increase more spending (before Trump was inaugurated a 2nd term) of their GDP every year to at least 2029 because they knew ahead to take the U.S. threats serious of pulling out of NATO and the growing right-wing support of politics by the United States... This is Europe's way to tell the United States and those like Musk to stop meddling in their politics because they knew Musk's military armaments goals in the European Union and they wanted nothing to do with Musk as seen by the warning with TSLA dropping sales in Europe (50 to 70% sale declines). I'm expecting major declines in sales for America's defense companies and layoffs later this year but great growth in European companies like BAE Systems (UK), Thales (France), Rheinmetall (Germany), and Airbus. AE Systems: A British multinational aerospace, defense, and information security company, considered the largest defense contractor in Europe. Thales: A French aerospace and defense company, known for its defense electronics and radar systems. Rheinmetall: A German company, a key supplier for armed forces in Europe, with a focus on land systems and ammunition Airbus: While known for its commercial aircraft, Airbus also has a significant defense and space division, with operations across Europe. Other Notable Companies: Safran: A French aerospace and defense company, known for its engines and systems. Dassault Aviation: A French aerospace company, known for its fighter aircraft, such as the Rafale. Naval Group: A French company specializing in naval shipbuilding and systems. Fincantieri: An Italian shipbuilding company. Navantia: A Spanish shipbuilding company. Diehl Defence: A German company. Rolls-Royce: A British company known for its engines, including those for military aircraft and ships. Babcock International Group: A British company providing engineering and support services to the defense sector. QinetiQ Group:A British company specializing in defense technology and services. For the first time in my life, as an investment portfolio for my kids, I'll be buying stocks in Europe's defense companies like the above while Europe searches for others ways to minimize the expansion goals of Elon Musk and the United States. Simply, the United States can not be great again while Europe makes itself great again without the United States. wrbtrader
"President Donald Trump has said that automakers can avoid his tariffs by simply moving production to American plants." How to find simple solutions to complex problems: get a lobotomy, then suggest the first solutions that come to mind!
That takes years to do, and there is no guarantee the market is the same by then. Also, current NA autos depend on parts that cross the border 6 or 7 times. I doubt Donald got caught in the period where wait lists for new cars were over a year sometimes 2. It wasn't long ago; Toyota not US companies ( or any of Honda/Hyundia/Subaru ) solved that problem the fastest by my experience ( we got our car in 3 months promised in 6 months ). If he just implements the policies the layoffs will occur in short order. They already have $2-3K in extra costs due to steel/aluminum tariffs ),
I would not be buying F35s that Trump can track and disable some day he is in a mood. European maker stocks are booming.
I asked an AI to come up with a timeline. August 2024: Ukrainian forces conducted a significant incursion into Russia, capturing substantial territory in the Kursk region. Early 2025: Russian forces, bolstered by North Korean troops, initiated a counteroffensive to reclaim areas in the Kursk region previously taken by Ukraine. March 13, 2025: Reports emerged that President Trump had suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, aligning with Russia's intensified military operations in the Kursk region. March 14, 2025: President Trump publicly appealed to President Putin to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers purportedly encircled in the Kursk region, echoing Russian claims of Ukrainian forces being surrounded. However, the Ukrainian General Staff refuted these encirclement claims, suggesting they were misinformation propagated by Russian sources. March 14, 2025: U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff departed Moscow without securing a ceasefire agreement, as President Putin rejected President Trump's proposed terms. It concludes: The concurrence of the U.S. suspending military support to Ukraine and Russia's escalated military actions in the Kursk region raises questions about potential coordination. Additionally, President Trump's repetition of Russian narratives regarding the encirclement of Ukrainian troops, despite Ukrainian denials, could be perceived as aligning with Russian strategic messaging.
Canada evaluating cancelling F-35 as well: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f35-blair-trump-1.7484477