President Donald Trump and his cabinet recently travelled to the Hague, Netherlands, for a summit with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The summit concluded with a historic agreement by NATO members to each spend a minimum 5% of their GDP on defense.
President Trump, a former critic of NATO members’ unwillingness to adequately finance their militaries, was framed as the chief driver of the 5% spending agreement.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte claimed that Trump’s election was the reason behind countries’ willingness to increase military spending.
Trump, since his first administration, has vehemently demanded NATO countries fulfill their membership agreements and spend the required 2% GDP minimum on defense.
Trump repeatedly floated leaving NATO to spur its members into fulfilling the financial and military support promises they were ignoring.
Combined with Trump’s pressure, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has incited NATO allies to push for an increase in spending far beyond 2%, leading to the recent 5% agreement.
“United in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long- term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism, Allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defence requirements,” reads the agreement.
Trump hailed the 5% agreement as a “big success.”
The agreement is a"great victory for everybody,” said Trump. “We (the US) will be equalised shortly, and that's the way it has to be."
The US currently far outspends every other NATO ally in total dollars spent on the military and is second only to Poland in spending as a proportion of total GDP.
According to the new agreement, the 5% minimum spending that NATO allies have pledged to fulfill will be achieved by 2035 and be split into two categories.
First, NATO members will allocate a minimum 3.5% of GDP annually based on fundamental defence needs, such as investments in equipment, and capabilities necessary to deter and defend against potential threats.
The remaining 1.5% will be spent on critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, ensuring civil preparedness and resilience, bolstering innovation, and strengthening defence industrial bases.
