President Trump is suggesting that NATO allies double their military spending goal to 4 percent of their gross domestic product, the White House confirmed on Wednesday.
Trump previously pressed members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to raise their spending to 2 percent by 2024.
Most NATO nations spend less than 2 percent of their GDP on military programs, though the U.S. spends more. Trump has argued the U.S. effectively subsidizes its allies' defense.
The new 4 percent goal was initially disclosed by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, a supporter of the idea, following a meeting with Trump, and was later confirmed by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
“During the [p]resident’s remarks today at the NATO summit he suggested that countries not only meet their commitment of 2 percent of their GDP on defense spending, but that they increase it to 4 percent," Sanders said in a statement.
"The [p]resident raised this same issue when he was at NATO last year," Sanders said. "President Trump wants to see our allies share more of the burden and at a very minimum meet their already stated obligations.”
Before the summit in Brussels, Trump sent a letter to allies urging greater military spending. He said in a tweet subsequent to Sanders' statement:
| What good is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy? Why are there only 5 out of 29 countries that have met their commitment? The U.S. is paying for Europe’s protection, then loses billions on Trade. Must pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2018 |
Radev first disclosed the requested 4 percent target to Bulgarian radio station BNR.
"Trump has urged NATO allies to move to a goal of 4 percent of their countries’ GDP spent on defense,” BNR quoted Radev as saying in Brussels.
“This is vital for the future of the organization," Radev said. "President Trump is right because every country should make a contribution in today’s world of growing uncertainty, and build effective capabilities. And in Bulgaria there is obvious reluctance in allocating funds to the armed forces."
