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  • ✇Euromaidan Press
  • Trump says US shouldn’t match NATO 5% defense spending he demands from allies
    US President Donald Trump declared that America should not be held to the same defense spending standards he expects from NATO allies, according to his remarks made to journalists on 20 June. The pressure for NATO members to increase GDP on defense from 2% benchmark to 5% primarily arises from growing security threats, especially from Russia and China. Russia’s aggression in Ukraine underscored the need for stronger military readiness in Europe.  Meanwhile, Russia’s defense spending in 2025 corr
     
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✇Euromaidan Press

Trump says US shouldn’t match NATO 5% defense spending he demands from allies

Par :Vira Kravchuk
21 juin 2025 à 07:52

A man at the Hands Off protest against Trump in Minnesota is holding flags of Ukraine and NATO.

US President Donald Trump declared that America should not be held to the same defense spending standards he expects from NATO allies, according to his remarks made to journalists on 20 June.

The pressure for NATO members to increase GDP on defense from 2% benchmark to 5% primarily arises from growing security threats, especially from Russia and China. Russia’s aggression in Ukraine underscored the need for stronger military readiness in Europe. 
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense spending in 2025 corresponds to approximately 6.2% to 6.3% of its GDP, marking the highest level since the Cold War. This defense budget alone accounts for about 32% to 40% of Russia’s total federal budget expenditures, up from about 28.3% in 2024.

When pressed about his previous calls for NATO members to spend 5% of GDP on defense, Trump drew a clear distinction between American and allied obligations.

“I don’t think we should, but I think they [NATO countries] should,” he stated, arguing that the US has “supported NATO for so long” and previously “covered almost 100% of the costs.”

The president specifically targeted Spain and Canada for their defense contributions. Spain announced this week it would not commit to the 5% spending target, prompting Trump to say that “NATO will have to deal with Spain” and describing the country as “very low payer.”

“Spain has to pay what others have to pay,” Trump added.

However, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez explicitly rejected the 5% target in communications with NATO head Rutte, arguing such spending levels contradict principles of general welfare.

Trump was equally critical of Canada, which he claimed “paid the least” among allies, suggesting Canadian officials reasoned that paying was unnecessary since “the United States protects us for free.”

Earlier, the Alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte has proposed a framework requiring allies to spend 3.5% of GDP on core defense by 2032, plus an additional 1.5% on related areas like cybersecurity and defense infrastructure.

Several Eastern European nations have already embraced higher spending levels. 

Lithuania plans to allocate between 5 and 6% of GDP to defense from 2025 through 2030, doubling its current spending, while Estonia will increase its spending from 3.7% to 5%. Both countries emphasize that this increase is not solely due to US pressure but is existential for maintaining real war-fighting capabilities against the threat posed by Russia.

Poland also plans to reach 4.7% this year, currently NATO’s highest rate.

 

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