The team of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has informed European officials about plans for the new administration to push NATO member states to raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP.
This was reported by Financial Times, citing its sources.
Donald Trump’s team has made it clear that the new U.S. president intends to demand NATO members increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP, the publication states.
According to one of the sources, Trump is willing to consider raising U.S. defense spending to 3.5% of GDP but will tie this to offering more favorable trade terms with the United States.
At the NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, alliance members had previously agreed to allocate at least 2% of GDP to defense. Currently, according to NATO data, 23 out of 32 member states meet this threshold.
Western media reports indicate that Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized European allies for their low financial contributions to NATO’s defense capabilities, now intends to insist on raising this share to 3% of GDP.
