Braxton Taylor
NATO members should dramatically increase their defense spending from the current 2 percent share of their GDP to 5 percent, President Donald Trump said Thursday in Switzerland. But even a smaller increase could help Ukraine, and could benefit U.S. arms makers as well, according to a former senior White House official.
“I’m also going to ask all NATO nations to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, which is what it should have been years ago,” Trump told attendees at the Davos Forum. NATO established the joint commitment for each nation to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense during the 2014 Wales Summit, not long after Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine.
An official told the Financial Times in December that Trump used 5 percent as a starting point for negotiations, but would likely accept 3.5 percent.
Trump has long complained that NATO member states don’t spend as much of their GDP on defense as the United States, and NATO officials have recently said alliance nations must increase its spending. But both NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Angus Lapsley, NATO’s assistant Secretary General for defence policy and planning, have mentioned a target of 3 percent—which Trump originally floated on the campaign trail last summer..
If the United States increased its own defense spending from around 3.4 percent of GDP to 5 percent, that would result in a defense spend of approximately $1.3 trillion annually, FOX’s Jennifer Griffin pointed out on X. Trump did not mention any increase in U.S. defense spending during his remarks. But his comments are perhaps best understood when taken together with his previous complaints that NATO member spending—in total dollar amounts–is less than United States spending.
Last year, for instance, the United States allocated almost $967 billion to defense, while Germany allocated $97 billion.
However, Trump is committed to continuing to provide weapons aid for Ukraine, the Times reported. And that provides a clue into how a big increase in NATO defense spending might help both Ukraine and the United States.
A former senior White House official who is familiar with discussions between former President Joe Biden’s national security team and Trump’s, said the two teams were considering a plan where the United States would provide needed arms to Ukraine, but NATO members would absorb the costs.
The United States has been the largest contributor of weapons to Ukraine, providing approximately $46 billion in military aid—including Patriot missile systems and batteries, HIMARs long-range fires and 155mm ammunition rounds, among other weapons. European allies have also provided 155mm rounds, as well as tanks, guns, and other weapons, but their donations are far outpaced by the United States’.
However, continuing to arm and support Ukraine is a key objective for NATO members, Rutte said this week, to prevent a security crisis in Europe that could cost “trillions.”
According to the former senior White House official, “Fundamentally, it’s going to have to be the American defense industrial base continuing to power the fight if Ukraine is going to stay in it. And I think the best answer would be that we provide the stuff and then continue to replace it with dollars allocated by the Europeans.”
When Defense One asked the official if the Trump national security team is receptive to the idea, the official replied: “I would just say that there are real voices inside the Trump team that would like to see the continuation of support to Ukraine, but are also mindful of the fact that they don’t want it to come out, out of the American taxpayers.”
Representatives from the current administration did not respond to requests for comment.
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