Trump to push for five percent NATO defense spending target but plans to keep arming Ukraine — FT
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s team has told European officials that his administration will push NATO member countries to increase defense spending to five percent of GDP, up from the current target of two percent, but plans to continue supplying military aid to Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
One source familiar with the discussions told the newspaper that Trump would be satisfied with countries spending 3.5 percent.
The FT notes that only 23 of NATO’s 32 members currently meet the two percent spending benchmark. The U.S. will spend about 3.1 percent of its GDP on defense in 2024, down from 3.4 percent in the last year of Trump’s first presidential term.
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