**Lithuania and Estonia Meet Trump’s Defense Spending Demand**
Lithuania and Estonia have become the first NATO countries to meet U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to raise defense spending to more than 5% of GDP. This change was reported by the Financial Times on January 27.
**New Era in Defense Spending**
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys described this shift as a “new era.” The country has committed to spending between 5% and 6% of its GDP on defense annually until at least 2030. Estonia followed suit, with Prime Minister Kristen Michal promising to raise defense spending from 3.7% of GDP to 5%.
**Leadership in Defense Spending**
This move puts the Baltic nations ahead of most NATO members and even the United States, which allocated 3.38% of its GDP to defense in 2024. Poland, another NATO member, has also committed to meeting this benchmark by 2025.
**NATO’s Debate on Defense Spending**
The announcements come as NATO members discuss raising the alliance-wide defense spending target from 2% to 3% of GDP by 2030. Still, Trump’s proposed 5% benchmark remains a challenge for many countries. Italy, Canada, and Spain are among those still below this threshold.
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