“EU warns Trump: “Trade war threatens defense spending” European Commissioner Stephane Sejourne said that the trade war with the US will make it impossible to achieve NATO’s new goals for defense spending. Trump is demanding a spending increase of up to 5% of GDP, while the EU cannot exceed 3% due to budget constraints.”, — write on: unn.ua
Writes UNN citing Politico.
Hours before Donald Trump’s inauguration, European Commission industry chief Stephane Sejournay warned that Europe would be unable to meet more ambitious defense spending targets if a trade war broke out.
Sejourne noted that he supports the need to increase investments in European defense capabilities, but emphasized that the implementation of these plans will become impossible in the event of an escalation of the trade conflict with the United States.
Since his first term, Trump has constantly criticized European countries for insufficient defense funding, accusing them of “freely” using NATO under the American security umbrella. He even suggested the possibility of the US leaving the transatlantic alliance.
We can’t do that when we have a trade war on our doorstep and national budgets everywhere are unable to increase defense spending by more than 3%
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NATO requires its members to spend 2% of GDP on defense, but this figure could rise at the June summit in The Hague. Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte said last week that the new figure would likely exceed 3%.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump said the other day that NATO countries should spend 5% of their GDP on defense, well above the current target of 2%. His proposal drew mixed reactions, with Italy and Germany calling it unrealistic, while Poland and Lithuania, which already spend more per capita on defense, supported the idea. At the same time, even the United States has not yet reached this level of spending.
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The planned increase in defense spending may prove unattainable in the event of a trade war. Donald Trump has been pushing for protectionist measures, including universal tariffs on imports, criticizing the EU for not buying enough American cars and agricultural products. He also repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the large number of German cars on the streets of Manhattan.
We will remind
Today, Donald Trump officially takes office as the President of the United States. European countries are closely following his statements regarding tariff increases, withdrawal from climate agreements and plans for Ukraine. In addition, the EU is already preparing for potential changes in transatlantic relations and looking for ways to avoid conflicts.