Theresa May promises to confront Donald Trump as he suggests US may not come to aid of NATO allies and ushers in new era of protectionism
“The whole point about a special relationship with the US is that we can sit down and be very frank with each other about what we think,” says PM
DONALD Trump threw US commitment to Nato into fresh doubt yesterday in a speech which promised to put America first.
He suggested the US may no longer come to the aid of its Nato allies during his inaugural address in Washington.
Mr Trump, 70, declared it has subsidised the armies of other countries and defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own.
He instead vowed to put America first, adding: “We will bring back our jobs, our borders and our dreams.”
Last night PM Theresa May promised to confront Mr Trump, who had branded Nato obsolete before he took office.
Mrs May, who hopes to become the first world leader to visit him in the White House next week, told the FT: “The whole point about a special relationship with the US is that we can sit down and be very frank with each other about what we think.”
She insisted she was sure Mr Trump recognises the importance and significance of Nato.
She said: “I’m also confident the USA will recognise the importance of the co-operation we have in Europe to ensure our collective defence and collective security.”
Ushering in a new era of protectionism, Mr Trump yesterday signalled he was ready to rip up trade deals which hurt US industry.
He said: “We will follow two simple rules — buy American and hire American.”
It was in stark contrast with Mrs May’s vow the day before for the UK to be the world’s greatest defender of free trade.
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In a bid to steer Mr Trump away from a damaging new trade war, the PM insisted in a statement they are “both committed to working together for the prosperity and security of people on both sides of the Atlantic”.
Nato’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also moved quickly to stress it was ready to address some of Mr Trump’s complaints, including “fairer burden-sharing among allies”.
He said: “I look forward to working closely with President Trump to reinforce our Alliance, to ensure that we continue to respond to evolving challenges.”
Mr Trump had been critical of Nato during his election campaign and said last week he warned a long time ago it had problems.
He said: “Number one, it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago.
“Number two, the countries weren’t paying what they’re supposed to pay.”
He went on: “So we’re supposed to protect countries but a lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the US.”
Britain and the US spend two per cent of overall GDP on defence as part of its Nato commitment.
Only five of the 28 members meet the minimum yearly spend.
In his address, Mr Trump said: “For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidised the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military.
We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own.
“And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.
"We’ve made other countries rich, while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.”