The whole world has become accustomed to the harsh and impatient statements of US President Donald Trump.

The American leader, in his characteristic manner, directly declares his demands and is very surprised if the allies are not in a hurry to fulfill them. So, he demanded a reduction in duties on American goods, an increase in the defense budgets of the NATO countries, to stop the construction of the Nord Stream – 2 and much more. Otherwise, everything rests on the termination of military protection from America.

This time Donald Trump declared that the Allies would have to pay five times more for holding American military bases on their territory. Now the Allies will have to pay the full cost of deploying a US military base and pay an additional half of this amount. And this amount will be the net profit of the United States. At the same time, the expenses of some countries on the deployment of US military bases may increase five times.

Currently, more than 700 US military bases are located around the world. The largest contingents are stationed in Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Germany. And their leadership is unlikely to be delighted with the scheme proposed by Trump.

Obviously, this initiative should serve the achievement of some political goals. Only what? It is quite possible that it is a lever of pressure to force NATO countries to increase their contributions to the alliance’s budget to the established 2% GDP. The American president has repeatedly demanded this from the allies. It can also be a tool in an attempt to put pressure on the leadership of European countries, especially Germany, to abandon the construction of Nord Stream 2. Also, do not dismiss the statements of Donald Trump about the US withdrawal from NATO. Congress forbade him to initiate the country’s withdrawal from the defense alliance. And in the event that the Allies refuse to pay America at new tariffs, the cunning Trump could well use it to resume negotiations with Congress.

What the American president is trying to achieve is currently hard to say. But it is clear that such a step is unlikely to help improve US relations with its allies.

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