Lockheed: Signing Airbus Contract A Sign Of Openness

Brussels, Belgium (AHN) - Multinational aerospace and defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin said Tuesday that signing a contract for a collective purchase of tankers that included the European Airbus was a good sign indicating the U.S.'s willingness to be more open in the global market.

Company CEO Bob Stevens, while speaking at the Security and Defense Agenda Conference held in Brussels, commented on the U.S.' recent agreement to a $35 billion contract to Northrup Grumman and European partner and Airbus creator, the European Aerospace Defense and Space Company.

According to the executive, the contract attested that the U.S. market remained open - something that he said was of importance in the fast process of globalization.

A company press release quoted Stevens noting the "positive trend" also as a denouncement of beliefs that the U.S. market should remain closed to European businesses and their products. He added that it also dispelled notions regarding the U.S.'s apprehension to enter into long-term agreements with NATO countries.

Stevens added that "further transatlantic collaboration is critical", and that doubts due to protectionism will lead companies to "only grow weaker until they are protected to death."

Stevens's comments were in relation to a recent statement by the Government Accountability Office, which argued for a contract between Boeing and the air force for the supplying of 179 new tankers.

Other issues raised during the debate included the transfer of jobs from the U.S. Air Force to EADS, thereby, according to some Congress members, have caused harm to the U.S. economy.