Trump said he wanted to punish Germany's insufficient payments to NATO and to use the troops' future as a weapon to back up his threats of a trade war with the EU.
President Donald Trump said Monday he will halve the number of US troops in Germany because Berlin is"delinquent" in contributions to NATO and treats the United States"badly" on trade.
Trump's numbers were misleading because there are only between 34,000 and 35,000 US soldiers permanently stationed in Germany, according to the Pentagon. Rotation of units means the overall number can only temporarily top 50,000. The resurgence of Russia's military ambitions under President Vladimir Putin has given the US presence new importance in the last two decades, with central and eastern European states leading the way in pressuring for stronger US defenses.
Senior German politicians expressed concern last week about reports the US was planning to cap troop numbers at around 25,000, which appeared to catch Berlin by surprise. "We're negotiating with them on that, but right now I'm not satisfied with the deal they want to make. They've cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars over the years on trade, so we get hurt on trade and we get hurt on NATO.""Those are well-paid soldiers. They live in Germany, they spend vast amounts of money in Germany. Everywhere around those bases is very prosperous for Germany. So Germany takes.
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