Four years ago, as Switzerland prepared to make some military investments, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Swiss officials to invest in a French-made fighter jet called the Dassault Rafale. The lobbying didn’t work, and Switzerland instead opted for the United States’ F-35s.
In hindsight, the decision isn’t holding up especially well.
The Trump administration recently let Swiss officials know that the cost of the planes will be more than previously estimated. The White House soon after hit Switzerland with harsh trade tariffs. As Politico reported, the developments are not sitting well in Bern.
An order for 36 F-35 jets may become a casualty of Donald Trump’s trade war against Switzerland as political opposition to the multibillion-franc defense deal surges in Bern. The backlash follows the U.S. president’s decision to hit Swiss exports with a 39 percent tariff — the highest levied on any developed country and more than double the rate imposed on the European Union.
In fairness, it’s worth emphasizing that Switzerland hasn’t canceled its investment, but there is an effort underway in the Swiss Parliament to end the order.
Just as notable is the familiarity of the circumstances. A few days before the Politico report was published on developments in the Swiss capital, Reuters published a related article about a similar issue unfolding roughly 1,000 miles away.
Spain is no longer considering the option of buying U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and is choosing between European-made Eurofighter and the so-called Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a defense ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. The spokesperson was confirming an earlier report by El Pais newspaper that the government had shelved plans to buy the F-35, which is manufactured by U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
We can keep going. In March, a leading Danish defense official acknowledged his country’s F-35 purchases, but expressed regret over the decision. “[B]uying American weapons is a security risk that we cannot run,” Rasmus Jarlov, the chair of Denmark’s parliamentary defense committee wrote on social media, adding: “We must avoid American weapons if at all possible.”
Portugal also lost interest in F-35s, as did Canada. Usually, when there’s political interest in F-35s, it’s related to Donald Trump and his apparent belief that the airplanes are literally invisible. But as traditional U.S. allies reassess their willingness to purchase the jets, it’s a lot less funny. New York magazine had a memorable report on this in March: Not so long ago, the F-35 fighter jet was the hottest ticket in the international arms market. … Stealthy, supersonic, and able to both dogfight and strike targets on the ground, it’s arguably the most sophisticated weapon in the U.S. arsenal and undeniably the most sought-after. As nation after nation held competitions to choose their next frontline fighter, the F-35 came in and trounced its rivals time and again. … But then, earlier this month, something happened. One after another, nations that had signed up for the F-35 started voicing qualms. … Nothing had changed about the plane’s performance. It’s just that, in the eyes of some international customers, the F-35 can’t fully be trusted anymore because of who is the commander-in-chief. Five months later, the problem appears to have gotten worse, not better.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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