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Germany backs Trump’s 5% NATO defense spending target

Updated May 15, 2025, 2:04pm EDT
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, as they attend the NATO foreign ministers’ informal meeting, in Antalya, Turkey May 15, 2025
Umit Bektas/Pool via Reuters

Germany on Thursday became the latest country to back Washington’s push to raise NATO members’ defense spending to 5% of GDP.

The new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said at a meeting of the alliance’s ministers in Istanbul that Berlin is “following” US President Donald Trump’s increased spending target.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wants allies to agree to spend 3.5% on defense, and an additional 1.5% on related projects such as cybersecurity and infrastructure — a plan that the US NATO ambassador appeared to endorse.

Meanwhile, the European Union is stepping up negotiations with the US over tariffs: The bloc hopes to reach an amicable agreement, but it is also readying $108 billion in levies if no deal is made, Bloomberg reported.

A chart showing where European NATO members’ arms came from between 2020 and 2024.

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