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German Defense Chief Questions Key NATO Spending Metric

German Defense Chief Questions Key NATO Spending Metric

Germany’s defense chief questioned a key metric for military spending among NATO allies, undercutting President Donald Trump’s rationale for withdrawing U.S. troops from the country.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said a commitment by North Atlantic Treaty Organization members to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense is “perhaps the wrong number to look at.” Such a benchmark is vulnerable to swings in economic fortunes and becomes inflated in a downturn, she said.

“If we were to hit another recession, we would get to 2% much quicker, but not have built up the capabilities that we actually need,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told an Atlantic Council video conference on Wednesday through an interpreter. Germany’s economy is set to shrink more than 6% this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The argument cuts to the heart of Trump’s recent verbal attacks against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, which he has called “delinquent” in falling short of the 2% goal. Trump said this month he’ll pull almost 10,000 troops out of Germany “until they pay,” although the plan is running into resistance among Republicans in Congress.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union who has dropped her bid to replace the chancellor in an election next year, has said Germany isn’t likely to meet its 2% goal for another decade. The government has said it will increase spending to 1.5% by mid-decade.

German officials, who have defended the country’s spending increases over the last decade, lined up to condemn Trump’s most recent volley. The U.S. leader doubled down on his criticism at his Saturday rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“They’re delinquent, for many years they’re delinquent,” Trump said. “They say ‘yes, we think by 2030, maybe 2032, we could get current.’ I said ‘no, Angela, Angela please, don’t say that Angela’.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.