Trump to demand NATO countries spend 5% of their GDP on defense

Donald Trump has said he will require NATO countries to spend at least five percent of their GDP on defense. The US president-elect’s team told European officials that the bloc would have to more than double its spending target of two percent – which over a quarter of its members are currently set to fail to meet.

People briefed on the talks said that Mr Trump had committed to continuing to supply Ukraine with military aid, despite pledging to cut-off funding to Kyiv in a bid to force Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace talks with Russia.

A source told the FT that the incoming president was keen to reward countries which increased defense spending with improved trade deals with the US. They said that he would be pushing for a target of at least three percent at a meeting of leaders in The Hague next June – a figure already being considered by Nato allies.

Mr Trump remains against Ukraine being granted NATO membership and would still be pushing for an immediate end to the war upon taking office next month, the source added. 

The US will have spent around 3.1 percent of GDP on defense this year, the White House Office of Management and Budget said – less than the 3.4 percent spent in 2020, Trump’s last full year in the Oval Office.

Some nations are however concerned about the fiscal implications related with higher defense budgets, which could require difficult fiscal decisions elsewhere. This year, only 23 allies out of 32 are expected to meet or exceed the target of 2 percent.

Seven European countries, including Italy and Spain, are still failing to meet the benchmark that was first implemented in 2014. It comes as President Zelenskyy and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte met representatives from several NATO countries including the UK, France, Germany and Italy in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss defense policies ahead of the Trump presidency.

The Ukrainian president said on Thursday that European funding pledges would ‘not be sufficient’ without a US contribution. Mr Rutte has previously said he would push for the target to be ‘much more’ than the current benchmark.

He pointed to what he called a ‘coordinated campaign to destabilize our societies,’ including cyberattacks and assassination attempts orchestrated by foreign powers.

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