NATO in the crosshairs: Who's not paying

their bills
by Ivana Kottasova @ivanakottasova
January 24, 2017: 12:05 PM ET

Social Surge - What's Trending

Federal agency
website still praises
Obamacare

Je Bridges searches
for peace in Trump's

America, come 'Hell or
High Water'

Here's how much

Trump's border wall
will cost

Hot List

Team Trump could be

ready to undermine
What's the point of NATO? ocial
unemployment

President Trump has a beef with NATO. He's called the alliance "obsolete" and accused other
Saudi Arabia warns of
members of not spending their fair share.
new crippling
cyberattack
"We are spending a tremendous amount in NATO and other people proportionately less," he said
during the campaign. "No good."
Apple wants to start
making iPhones in
When it comes to costs, Trump has a point. Only ve of NATO's 28 members -- the U.S., Greece, India
Poland, Estonia and the U.K. -- meet the alliance's target of spending at least 2% of GDP on
defense.
Trump Organization
names two execs to
Getting more NATO members to pay their way will be something Trump and U.K. Prime Minister
police conicts
Theresa May can agree on when they meet Friday at the White House.

Trump threatens
Trump aide: Stop freaking out about his comments
Mexico's biggest cash
source
The alliance increased overall defense spending for the rst time in two decades in 2015, but the
U.S. is still doing a lot of the heavy lifting. It spends the highest proportion of its GDP on defense:
3.61%.
Most Popular Videos

The second biggest NATO spender in proportional terms is Greece, at 2.38%, according to Alibaba CEO: We want
NATO. Meanwhile, Germany spent 1.19% last year, while France forked out 1.78%. Canada, to make Singles Day a
Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg all spend less than 1%. global festival
 to make Singles Day a
Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg all spend less than 1%. global festival

Chatting with the

hacker ghting ISIS
with porn

Karlie Kloss: The

supermodel of tech

Car sales: The party

may be over

Partner Oers Paid Partner

NATO admits it is overly dependent on the U.S. for the provision of essential capabilities,
including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, air-to-air refueling, ballistic missile
defense and airborne electronic warfare.

According to NATO statistics, the U.S. spent an estimated $664 billion on defense in 2016. That's
more than double the amount all the other 27 NATO countries spent between them, even though
their combined GDP tops that of the U.S.

NATO is now pushing hard for the 2% guideline to be taken more seriously.

Back in 2014, all member countries that fall below the threshold committed to ramp up military
spending to reach the target within a decade. Most countries are sticking with the promise: 12
increased their spending in 2014, and 16 did so in 2015. Last year, 22 countries spent more as a
share of their national economic output.

Trump, China, Europe: Why 2017 is impossible to predict

Fear of Russian aggression is driving some of the splurge. Latvia, which shares a border with
Russia, increased its defense spending by 42% in 2016. Its neighbor Lithuania boosted its
outlays by 34%. Both, however, are still below the 2% threshold.

A campaign is now underway to convince Trump to look beyond monetary costs.

NATO is based on the principle of collective defense: an attack against one or more members is
considered an attack against all. So far that has only been invoked once -- in response to the
September 11 attacks.

A Polish soldier takes part in NATO exercises. Poland is one of only ve members that meets NATO's guideline for defense spending.

Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, Trump's choice for defense secretary, has described NATO as
vital to U.S. national interests and security. Former ExxonMobil (XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson,
expected to be conrmed as secretary of state, has also defended the alliance.

Prime Minister May is expected to stress the vitality of the union when she meets with Trump.

Related: What the Trump administration has done so far

"What is important is that we recognize the value of NATO ... as an organization that is helping us
defend Europe and the interest of all of those allies that are in Europe," May said Sunday.

Trump, however, may still view the matter dierently.

The real estate developer touched on the theme in his inaugural address, saying the U.S. has for
too long "subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our
military."

CNNMoney (London)
First published January 24, 2017: 9:09 AM ET
U.S. + Business Markets Tech Media Personal Finance Small Biz Luxury stocktickers

Paid Content RecommendedbyOutbrain

If You're a The Fastest Way To Homeowners Urged American Residents
Homeowner, Pay O $10,000 In To Claim Their $4264 Wish They Knew This
Congress Urges You Credit Card Debt In Early 2017. Earlier
Claim Their $4 NerdWallet Smart Tips EverQuote
TheDollarDaily

Paid Content More From CNN Money

If You're a Homeowner, Congress Urges You Mexico warns Trump on taris: We'll respond
Claim Their $4,250 Rebate by Jan 31st 'immediately'
TheDollarDaily

Trump's Toyota attack sets o alarm bells in

American Residents Wish They Knew This Japan
Earlier EverQuote
CEO resigns after overworked employee
Is Peanut Butter Good for You? Consumer Reports commits suicide

Why so many people hate Obamacare

The Best Small, Compact SUVs Yahoo Search

Corona has a Trump-Mexico problem

This Company Was Named GQ's Favorite
Online Shirtmaker GQ
CNNMoney Loan Center - get help for all of your
nancial needs
8 Really Unusual Collectors' Cars You May
Have Never Seen [Slideshow] U.S. News

Recommendedby

Paid Links Advertisement

1. HOW TO CONSOLIDATE STUDENT LOANS 5. BEST GROWTH INCOME FUNDS

2. EMAIL MARKETING SERVICES 6. 401K BUSINESS FINANCING

3. LIFE INSURANCE FOR SENIORS 7. CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS

4. TRAVEL REWARDS CREDIT CARDS 8. BEST HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

Content Tools Connect

Contact Us Business Personal Finance Site Map Loan Center My Account YouTube

Advertise with Us Markets Small Business Interactive Calculators Mobile Site & Apps RSS Feeds

User Preferences Investing Luxury Job Search Corrections Facebook Newsletters

Closed Captioning Economy Media Real Estate Search Market Data Alerts Twitter Google+
U.S. + Business Markets Tech Media Personal Finance Small Biz Luxury stocktickers
Tech Video News Alerts LinkedIn

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: 2016 Morningstar, Inc. All
Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2016. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors.
All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been
licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poors Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones
Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2016 and/or its aliates.
 2016 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. AdChoices .

U.S. + Business Markets Tech Media Personal Finance Small Biz Luxury stocktickers