French President Emmanuel Macron called on US President Donald Trump to halt his trade war with allies following NATO’s agreement to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, a commitment the US had long demanded.
French President Emmanuel Macron urged US President Donald Trump to end his trade war against America’s allies after NATO members agreed to a significant increase in defense spending. “We cannot, among allies, say that we must spend more [on defense] … and wage a trade war,” Macron said at the conclusion of the NATO summit in The Hague.
Macron emphasized the importance of establishing a “true trade peace” within the alliance. “That’s why it is very important to return to what should be the rule within a group of allies. That is to say: a true trade peace,” he told reporters, noting that his position was echoed by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The North Atlantic alliance agreed to a new defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP, a figure Trump had demanded for months. With this commitment, NATO’s European members hope Trump will reconsider the tariffs he has imposed on the bloc.
Trump, however, was not immediately satisfied, criticizing Spain for its reluctance to commit to the 5 percent target. He called Spain's stance “terrible” and threatened to make Spain pay “twice as much” in ongoing trade talks. “If Spain doesn’t pay 5 percent they’ll pay back on trade,” Trump said, though it remains unclear how the US would enact this, since Spain is part of the EU and trade deals are negotiated by the bloc.
Macron’s remarks come as EU trade negotiators race to reach an agreement with the Trump administration by July 9, when Trump has threatened to raise duties on European goods to 50 percent. The EU-U.S. trade talks are expected to be discussed at an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels immediately following the NATO summit.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Brussels this week for being too slow and unfocused in its negotiations with Washington.
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