Donald Trump has consistently maintained a firm and resolute position on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Recently, Trump has reignited his criticisms of the alliance by suggesting raising the required military spending from 2% to 5% of members' gross domestic product (GDP). To put things into perspective, according to a report from the House of Commons, the United Kingdom currently spends about 2.3% of its GDP on military spending (statistica.com) which equates to about 56.9 billion Euros. An increase to 5% of the United Kingdom's GDP would equate to 127 billion Euros. The Russian-Ukraine war has already naturally forced many European nations to increase their military spending. For many European nations, raising military spending is easier said than done. Although increased military spending by European NATO nations would certainly decrease the alliance's dependency on America, forcing European nations to spend 5% of their GDP on defense budgets may cause great economic strain. This article looks to tackle the pros and cons of a potential increased military funding for NATO members from the viewpoint of the United States.
Pros - Ever since Trump campaigned for the 2016 presidential election, he has been a staunch advocate for decreasing NATO’s reliance on The United States. During his first presidential term, he heavily criticized many NATO members who did not meet the required 2% GDP spending on their defense budget, even threatening to remove them from the alliance if they did not comply. The United States is by far the world's largest defense spender. In the eyes of President Trump (who is widely considered more isolationist), how would it be beneficial for America to overcontribute to an alliance where many of its members look to freeload off America’s contributions? Should Trump’s proposal to raise the mandatory defense budget contribution to 5% of NATO members’ GDP come to fruition, the alliance would experience a substantial enhancement in its overall strength and cohesion. European nations would experience significant expansions in military capabilities, defense strength, and less dependence on America. A strengthened Europe would be more capable of holding off any potential Russian invasion of European NATO members while the American military mobilizes and transports to Europe. Overall, an increased defense budget may have tremendous direct benefits for the United States.
Cons - Increasing defense budget spending from 2% to 5% is no easy task for any nation. Many European leaders agree with President Trump that defense spending must increase across the alliance, but many countries simply cannot afford to do so. For example, a country like Italy, which currently allocates only 1.49% of its GDP to defense, would be entirely unable to increase its defense budget to 5% of its GDP. Their economy has been stagnant over the past few years. Forcing nations with suffering economies to increase defense budget spending may be a recipe for disaster for many nations. Many European nations for example, Italy, Spain, and Portugal cannot economically support large defense budget spending. When pushing for increased defense budget spending, policymakers must consider the effect it may have on economically struggling countries. The economic burden of significantly raising defense budgets may outweigh the positives as many European nations cannot meet the potential required spending of 5% of their GDP on defense.
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