EU industry chief warns Trump: Trade war won’t let us hit defense spending target

https://www.politico.eu/article/stephane-sejourne-donald-trump-trade-war-europe-defense-spending-target/

25 comments

  2. Every member country signed a treaty when joining NATO, so you have to honor the deal. Every member has to spend 2% of their GDP to defense budget. There’s no backpedaling on that, especially when Ruzzia is the aggresor.

  3. It is already too complicated to comprehend for 47…
    MALAAA!

  4. Trumps mission from Putin is to sow chaos in the West. All this is going as planned

  7. Why would trump care?
    And isn’t this his plan all along? Countries not meeting their goals so he has n excuse to get out of NATO?

  9. Well since a trade war is a war, I’d say this counts towards the 2%>

  10. Well since a trade war is a war, I’d say this counts towards the 2%.

  13. Eww that is a problem for Europe isn’t it. Trump has been threatening NATO for like 9 years to increase your spending and nothing but excuses- yall might be on your own if you cant get your act together. The American taxpayer is at breaking point and yall have to chip in.

  15. Would not surprise me in the least if Trump exits NATO.

  16. What a stupid declaration, might as well have said it will hurt europe very much and have the continent at their mercy. Showing weakness in front of a man who does not care serves no purpose, it actively hinders european security.

  17. >Stéphane Séjourné said Europe needs to invest more in defense but that it would be impossible to do so amid a trade war.

    >PARIS — A senior EU official cautioned Donald Trump hours before his inauguration that Europe can’t meet more aggressive defense spending targets if there’s a trade war.

    >European Commission industry chief Stéphane Séjourné said he agreed Europe needs to invest more in its defense capacities, but argued that it would be impossible to do so if Trump launches a trade war with Europe.

    >Dating back to his first term in the White House, Trump has berated European countries to cough up more cash on defense, arguing that they have been freeloading in NATO under the American security umbrella and even suggesting that the U.S. could pull out of the transatlantic military alliance.

    >“We cannot do this with a trade war on our doorstep, and national budgets everywhere are not capable of increasing defense budgets to more than 3 percent,” Séjourné said about increasing military spending during an interview with France Inter.

    >NATO currently demands that its members spend 2 percent of GDP on defense, but that figure is likely to be increased at the alliance’s June summit in The Hague. Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last week the new figure will likely be north of 3 percent.

    >In recent days, Trump has even touted that NATO allies spend a whopping 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense — a vast increase on the current 2 percent target.

    >Trump’s 5 percent defense spending target — that not even the U.S. currently meets — was deemed unrealistic by Italy and Germany, but supported by countries like Poland and Lithuania, both of which already spend more on defense per capita than most NATO allies.

    >A trade war could make that impossible. Trump has floated various protectionist measures, including threatening to enact universal tariffs on all imports. He has vented his fury at the European Union for not buying enough American autos or farm produce and is said to be “obsessed” by the number of German cars on the streets of Manhattan.

  18. He also wants to get rid of the department of education but keep the school loans.

  19. Why do US people vote for him? When people already know his true colour.

  20. Those bums don’t hit their defense budget targets when there is no trade war

  21. Wait…but what countries is that defense spending usually going towards? Past few years have been multiple terror attacks and assassination attempts…remember those? What the fuck has DOJ or DOD protected or prevented in the states recently? Anything?

  22. Like why is he doing puttin’s bidding? A sex tape? It would have to be much much worse right? Like rape of a minor or like with a man?

  23. Trump is an unconscionable ass….but meeting the DST is not his problem, it’s the EU’s.

  24. I don’t think he cares. He was publicity and it helps Putin, his best bud.

  25. It seemingly wasn’t possible before a trade war either, so let’s not make excuses.

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