Donald Trump says spending by Nato countries is up like a ‘rocket ship’, but wants more
- Trump used a well-worn script about burden-sharing with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in talks at the White House
- The meeting came a day before Nato foreign ministers sit down in Washington
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his pressure on Nato nations to pay more for their defence is leading to tens of billions of dollars more in contributions, but that the allies may need to boost their budgets even more.
Trump used a well-worn script about burden-sharing with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in talks at the White House. The meeting came a day before Nato foreign ministers sit down in Washington for what is expected to be a session dominated by concerns about Russia.
Trump, who has ruffled feathers among European allies by repeatedly saying that Nato nations need to pay more and ease the burden on the United States, said his tactics have paid off.
“Since I came to office it’s a rocket ship up. We’ve picked up over US$140 billion in additional money, and we look like we’re going to have at least another US$100 billion in spending by the nations … by 2020,” he said.
The US president said he would like to see Nato members pay more than 2 per cent of their gross domestic product for defence. Trump told Nato leaders last year to increase defence spending to 4 per cent of GDP. He said the United States pays 4.3 per cent of its GDP to Nato.