By Laurence Norman and Michael R. Gordon

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said NATO allies should spend up to 5% of their economic output on defense, a goal he said wouldn't need to be met immediately and would require greater American spending, too.

"We do want to leave here with an understanding that we are on a pathway, a realistic pathway, to every single one of the members committing -- and fulfilling a promise -- to reach up to 5% of spending," Rubio said on his first visit to the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

"That includes the United States, who will have to increase its percentage," he added.

A commitment by countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to spend 5% of gross domestic product on their militaries would provide a huge boost to the alliance's defense and address Washington's concerns that the Europeans haven't been pulling their weight.

If the U.S. were to approach the 5% target, it would entail a major boost in U.S. military spending as well. Though Rubio signaled increased U.S. military spending, he didn't explicitly commit the U.S. to the 5% goal.

NATO diplomats in recent weeks have informally discussed reaching a 5% goal within several years for a limited period, diplomats said.

Rubio said the Trump administration understands that NATO allies cannot reach the 5% goal immediately.

"No one expects that you are going to be able to do this in one year or two but the pathway has to be real," he said, speaking alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

NATO's previous target, set in 2014, committed alliance members to spend 2% of GDP on defense by last year. Twenty-three of the alliance's 32 members met that goal, NATO said.

Diplomats say there is already growing consensus among alliance members that they should move toward a target of 3.5% on core military expenditures. Members are informally discussing adding to that military-related infrastructure and other spending.

The U.S. spent 3.4% of its GDP in that year on defense. U.S. Defense Department spending and Energy Department expenditures on nuclear weapons totaled more than $880 billion for fiscal 2025.

To reach 5% of GDP, the U.S. would need to spend hundreds of billions of dollars more each year, according to an analysis by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have previously talked about a 5% goal. Rubio reinforced that message in remarks before the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, saying the alliance must build up its "hard power."

"President Trump has made clear he supports NATO. We are going to remain in NATO...But we want NATO to be stronger. We want NATO to be more viable," he said. "And the only way NATO can get stronger and more viable is if our partners -- the nation states which comprise this important alliance -- have more capability."

A number of European countries have recently announced new plans to accelerate military spending.

"When you look at the hundreds of billions of euros...rolling in the last couple of months, this is probably the biggest surge in military spending we have seen in Canada and Europe since the Cold War," Rutte said. "So that is good news but still, we'll need to do more."

Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com and Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 03, 2025 08:59 ET (12:59 GMT)

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