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The Fact Checker first reviewed a series of inaccurate statements that incumbent Trump made about funding for NATO, the Atlantic Treaty Organization North, in March 2016. More than two and a half years and many Pinocchios later Trump still does not seem to understand how NATO works.
He tweeted and commented on defense spending while intimidating NATO allies about alleged unpaid debts at this year's annual summit. But the numbers he used were often misleading or just wrong. As a reader service, we looked at six claims that the chair simply could not repeat and repeat.
"Before the last year when I was attending my first meeting, the amount was down, the countries were going down and down very substantially, and now it's going up a lot … I let them know about it. 39 last year, in a less firm, but fairly firm way, and they raised $ 33 billion more … [NATO is] richer than ever " – At a press conference, the July 12
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, wrote in a Wall Street Journal column: "The increase in NATO defense spending for a year and a half that [President Trump’s] the efforts make the difference. "Still, they do not match the president's boasting.Member countries have spent more on their defense since 2014. In the US exclusion, members have collectively increased spending defense of $ 11.4 billion last year first, adjusted for inflation and using 2010 prices and exchange rates. (Trump could refer to the same calculation in today's dollars, who raises at $ 34 billion.)
As for being richer than ever, we do not quite know what Trump means, but suppose that he meant the amount that the member countries spent on defense over time. This statement falls flat fairly quickly. In 2011, based on 2010 prices and exchange rates, NATO members spent more than they do today. At the height of the Cold War, between 1980 and 1984, they spent 4.5% of their collective GDP on defense. Today, it is 2.4%.
"Only five of the 29 countries made their commitment and that has changed now." – at a press conference on July 12
Trump is right – five of the 29 NATO member states currently spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense – the United States United, Greece, Estonia, the United Kingdom and Latvia. And according to NATO's current projections, three other countries – Poland, Lithuania and Romania – should comply with this directive by the end of the year. Whatever the case may be, Trump neglects the fact that the deadline is still six years and Stoltenberg wrote, "a majority of allies have planned to meet their 2% commitment" in time.
"Everyone is in agreement … You know, the 2% was a fork, a goal, it was not something they were committed to. , it's a commitment. " – at a press conference, July 12
Every NATO member has had this 2% guideline since 2006, but not everyone was actively working there. But after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO members promised to stop reducing their defense spending and "get closer" to this directive by 2%. here 10 years. In other words, the commitment to 2% was taken in 2014.
Member States have "reaffirmed [their] unwavering commitment" to the 2% commitment to the summit of this year, but the official statement does not mention any further increase. Asked about Trump's claim, French President Emmanuel Macron said: "There is a press release that was released yesterday, which is very detailed, confirming the 2% target here. 2024. That's all. "
Trump compares the strength of the alliance to all member countries that reach the benchmark of 2% .The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has argued the opposite – that spending does not necessarily equate to being a productive member of NATO.While Canadian defense spending is expected to reach only 1.23% of GDP, Trudeau emphasized the role of invaluable Canadian troops in NATO missions Defense experts Richard Sokolsy and Gordon Adams have noted that Greece has complied with the directive, even though it has significantly reduced defense spending, because its economy Is collapsed. "Measure what the Allies are spending on defenses e as part of their economy tells us nothing about the capabilities that they buy, "they wrote for the War on the Rocks website
" Many countries owe us a lot of money . years ago, when they are delinquent, as far as I'm concerned, because the United States had to pay for them. "- in remarks, July 11
It seems that Trump still does not understand how NATO funds work. (We've already repeated it several times.) Daniel Fried, former secretary of Deputy State for Europe, told the Fact Checker by e-mail: "The idea that the allies owe the American arrears is false." Alexander Vershbow, former Deputy Secretary General of the United States, said: NATO, said: "There are no arrears to the United States or NATO.Trump President is under the illusion that the Allies are paying the United States for protection, or pretend ignorance about the functioning of NATO. "
Member countries finance NATO directly and indirectly. The majority of NATO funds are indirect. "NATO is not a private club like Mar-a-Lago", where countries owe their dues, said Derek Chollet, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security Issues international. If a country meets the 2% guideline, it spends at least 2% of GDP for its own defense – does not take the bill from another country.
Direct contributions to finance the collective costs of NATO HQ, integrated command structure and some joint military capabilities, but these contributions are based on gross national income and according to NATO, "represent a small percentage of each member's defense budget ". (In the past, the US contribution was equivalent to less than $ 500 million a year – essentially, a rounding error in the defense budget.)
"I told people that I would be very unhappy if they did not take their commitments very seriously, because the United States paid a lot, probably 90% of the cost of NATO … But the United States paid between 70 and 90% depending on how you calculate. "- In a press conference, July 12
If Trump talks about direct spending to finance NATO, he is essentially wrong. The United States contributes about 22%.
It is more likely that he is talking about indirect financing. Member countries together spent $ 917 billion on defense in 2017. According to a report by NATO, the United States spent $ 618 billion. In other words, defense spending in the United States accounted for 67% of all defense spending by alliance members. "This does not mean that the United States covers 67% of NATO's operating costs as an organization, including its headquarters in Brussels and its subordinate military commands," the website said. from NATO. it's an overreliance on the Alliance as a whole on the United States for the provision of essential capabilities. "
Still Trump misses the point: these are funds that the United States has allowed to spend for their own defense.They are not the" cost of NATO, "notes Mr. Vershbow. half of this is spent on defense activities in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East / Gulf, Africa and the Americas. "
just over 1%, while the United States, in figures real, pay 4.2% of a much larger GDP.So, I think that it is inappropriate too. "- In remarks, the 11th of July
German defense expenditure accounted for 1, 2% of GDP. The United States spent 3.5% of GDP – not 4.2. But as we have explained, the ratio of defense spending is not all that matters. Let's say it this way. If Germany has chosen to increase its military budget, Chollet said, it would easily cross this 2% threshold. But that would not benefit the alliance in much the same way as Ramstein Air Force Base.
If US forecasts were in the order of 4.2% of GDP, if the defense budget climbed to more than $ 850 billion – more than $ 150 billion more than currently forecast
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