Why Do People Keep Saying Out Allies Owe Us Money?

A U.S. Navy senior principal picayune officeholder stands lookout man ahead of a ceremony inaugurating the U.Southward. anti-missile station Custodianship Aground Romania at Deveselu, Romania, in 2016. The station is office of NATO'south anti-missile shield for Europe. Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images

A U.S. Navy senior chief picayune officeholder stands watch ahead of a ceremony inaugurating the U.S. anti-missile station Aegis Ashore Romania at Deveselu, Romania, in 2016. The station is role of NATO'southward anti-missile shield for Europe.

Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump has been making plenty of claims nigh how much the U.Due south. contributes to NATO while portraying other members of the alliance equally deadbeats. Here is some of what he has said and how those statements stand up to the facts.

The Claim

Sitting down to breakfast in Brussels just before the NATO plenary session Midweek, Trump accused NATO allies of existence freeloaders:

"Many countries owe us a tremendous amount of money from many years back, where they're delinquent as far as I'm concerned, because the United States has had to pay for them. And so if you go back 10 or 20 years, you'll simply add it all upwards, it'south massive amounts of coin is owed."

False

The U.Southward. has non been stiffed for unpaid bills by NATO allies.

"There is no ledger that maintains accounts of what countries pay and owe," says former Obama assistants National Security Council staffer Aaron O'Connell. "NATO is non like a club with almanac membership fees."

NATO members did make a delivery four years ago to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense by 2024. Merely nine of the military alliance's 29 members are expected to reach or surpass that target this year.

The Merits

At the same pre-plenary breakfast, Trump excoriated Germany, the biggest economic power in NATO after the U.Due south.:

"Germany is just paying a trivial bit over i pct, whereas the United States in actual numbers is paying 4.2 percent."

True And False

Germany indeed devotes only about one.25 percent of its GDP to defence. While it has additional defense force spending the past two years, Germany, like about half the other NATO members, does not plan to accomplish 2 pct past 2024.

Simply Trump's claim that the U.South. is spending four.2 percent of GDP is at odds with the Pentagon, which puts information technology at three.3 percent.

NATO scholar Garret Martin says in any case, U.S. defence force needs vastly surpass those of its European allies.

"We're not comparing apples to apples," notes Martin, a lecturer at American University's School of International Service. "The United States is a global military ability with global military commitments.

"NATO and the trans-Atlantic geographical area is only a part of what the United States military does. That's non necessarily true for most of the European members of the brotherhood."

The Merits

At a July 5 rally in Montana, Trump said this nearly NATO funding:

"We're paying for anywhere from seventy to 90 percent to protect Europe, and that'southward fine."

Confusing

Trump did not say 70 to ninety percent of what. It's true that if the overall defense budgets of all 29 NATO allies are tallied, the U.Southward. defense upkeep accounts for about ii-thirds of that total. Simply every bit noted in a higher place, American defense expenditures are for much more than than just protecting Europe.

"In that location is a mutual budget that all NATO allies pay into," says O'Connell of NATO'south direct expenses for shared headquarters and exercises. "It's nearly $2.8 billion and the U.Due south. pays 22 percentage of that, not 90 per centum."

The Claim

Trump sought to take credit in Brussels for NATO allies spending more:

"This year, since our last meeting, commitments accept been made for over $40 billion more than money spent by other countries."

Exaggeration

NATO reported on July 10 that spending by European members increased from concluding financial year to the current fiscal year by about $35 billion.

The increased spending predates Trump.

"I think once the trend started irresolute in 2014, that created momentum even earlier he became president," says Martin. "Now perchance there'southward a bit more urgency now considering he's blunter than his predecessors in criticizing his European partners."

Despite Trump's complaints well-nigh American outlays for NATO, the U.S. is actually spending more in Europe than when he took part.

"Deportment speak louder than words," NATO Secretarial assistant-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters as the NATO tiptop got underway. "Since Trump became president, U.S. funding for military presence in Europe — the European Deterrence Initiative — has been increased by 40 percentage."

That spending was approved by Congress, where both the Firm and the Senate overwhelmingly approved resolutions this week backing NATO.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2018/07/11/628137185/fact-check-trumps-claims-on-nato-spending

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