Just weeks ahead of the NATO summit U.S. President Donald Trump is calling on allies, including Canada, to increase defence spending on NATO.

It comes by way of a letter, obtained by iPolitics, written on White House letterhead and signed by Trump, that was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on June 19.

“There is growing frustration in the United States that key Allies like Canada have not stepped up defense spending as promised,” it reads.

“This frustration is not confined to our Executive Branch. The United States Congress has taken note and is concerned as well. The United States is increasingly unwilling to ignore this Alliance’s failure to meet shared security challenges.”

Since before he won election, Trump has frequently criticized NATO members for failing to live up to commitments made in the 2014 Wales Defence Investment Pledge to spend a minimum of two per cent of gross domestic product on defence.

A NATO leaders’ summit is scheduled for July 11-12 in Brussels and many expect Trump’s trademark belligerence to be on display. He caused a stir at the G7 summit just weeks ago when he lashed out at Trudeau, calling him “very dishonest and weak” following the conference.

Trump notes NATO has been under-resourced and that allies agreed in the Wales Pledge to honour their commitments to the alliance.

“As one of our most capable Allies and a leader in worldwide security, Canada’s continued defense spending of less than 2 per cent undermines the security of the Alliance and provides validation for other Allies that also are not meeting their defense spending commitments,” the letter said. “At the Summit, we must ensure Alliance credibility by living up to our agreed commitments. I expect to see a strong recommitment by Canada to meet the goals to which we have all agreed in the Defense Investment Pledge.”

The only member countries expected to spend more than two per cent of GDP on defence in 2017 were the U.S. (3.57 per cent), Greece (2.36 per cent), the United Kingdom (2.12 per cent) and Estonia (2.08 per cent), a report on member defence expenditures by NATO said in March. Canada’s defence spending was estimated to be 1.29 per cent of its GDP last year.

NATO countries agreed to increase their defence expenditure to at least 2 per cent of their GDP by 2024 as part of the 2014 Wales Summit Declaration. The Liberals declared in their 2017 budget that they would be increasing defence spending to $32.7 billion by the 2026/27 fiscal year.

“In 2017, as part of a comprehensive review of Canadian defence spending, the Government of Canada committed to increasing DND’s funding by more than 70 per cent over the next decade. This plan has been rigorously costed, is fully funded, and serves Canada’s defence needs. It also upholds our long-standing role as an active contributor to global peace and security,” said Renée Filiatrault, communications director for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.

“The Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force are among the most engaged, agile, deployable and responsive armed forces within NATO. Canada is proud to have contributed to every NATO operation since the founding of the Alliance more than six decades ago. Canada’s participation in NATO operations around the world is a tangible signal of our commitment to the trans-Atlantic Alliance.”

Trump has repeatedly taken aim at NATO allies’ defence spending, calling NATO “unfair” to the U.S. After the G7 summit Trump took aim at the European Union.

“The European Union had a $151 Billion Surplus- should pay much more for Military!” he said in a tweet.

And then at Germany: “Germany pays 1% (slowly) of GDP towards NATO, while we pay 4% of a MUCH larger GDP. Does anybody believe that makes sense? We protect Europe (which is good) at great financial loss, and then get unfairly clobbered on Trade. Change is coming!”

NATO estimated that Germany spent 1.24 per cent of its GDP expenditure on the military last year.

Earlier this week, the defence committee tabled a report in the House of Commons reaffirming its support for Canada as a member-nation of NATO. It also advocates that the government take steps towards reaching the two per cent expenditure on GDP metric.

“The committee repeatedly heard that Canada could do more to support NATO, its member countries and its partner countries,” the report states.

Trump’s letter comes amid increased trade tensions between Canada and the United States after the president’s administration imposed stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on June 1. Washington has said the tariffs, which Trudeau has repeatedly called “unacceptable,” are necessary because of national security concerns – an argument Canadian officials have said is ” insulting” and “absurd.”

The Canadian government insists the tariffs are illegal. Ottawa has formally filed complaints against the United States at both the World Trade Organization and under NAFTA. The federal government also plans to impose some $16.6 billion in retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of American goods, starting July 1, if the tariffs are not removed.

Earlier this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross admitted Canada alone does not pose a national security threat to the United States and that the American government currently has a surplus in steel trade with Canada, it’s largest supplier.

“The Canadian steel industry is not being accused of directly and individually being a security threat,” Ross told a U.S. Senate committee examining tariffs. “The national security implication is in the aggregate, all of the steel.”

Sources within the military say other NATO nations have received similar letters from Trump. The Prime Minister’s Office would not confirm or deny whether Trudeau has responded to the one he received.

– With files from Kelsey Johnson and The Canadian Press

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