Trump demands NATO countries spend more on defence

President Donald Trump today asked NATO member countries to spend more on the security bloc arguing that it is unfair to the US which is spending far more than the others.

The United States is spending far more on NATO than any other country. This is not fair, nor is it acceptable, Trump said ahead of the NATO Summit in Brussels later this week.

While these countries have been increasing their contributions since I took office, they must do much more, he said as he listed out the percentage of defence spending of other major NATO countries.

"Germany is at one per cent, the US is at four per cent and the NATO benefits......., he said.

Europe far more than it does the US. By some accounts, the US is paying for 90 per cent of NATO, with many countries nowhere close to their two per cent commitment. On top of this the European Union has a trade surplus of USD 151 million with the US, with big trade barriers on US goods, Trump said.

Trump's meeting with NATO leaders in Europe this week is expected to be stormy, as he is most likely to demand other NATO countries start spending more on their defence. He is also expected to push for better balance of trade with Europe.