During Wednesday’s press conference, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, often referred to as the “Trump whisperer,” attempted to assure the President that Spain had made significant progress on defense spending.
“You mentioned Spain, even you got Spain to pay 2%,” Rutte said. “They made a huge step last year, there’s still issues we have to solve, but even Spain, I would say, they got to the 2%.”
But Trump appeared unconvinced.
In response to Trump’s trade threat, European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters “we expect the U.S. to honour its commitments… as we have honoured ours.”
The Commission “will always ensure that the interests of the European Union and all our member States are fully protected,” he added.
The European Union’s side of a trade deal struck with the U.S. last year came into effect on July 1. The 27 nations negotiate trade as a bloc, which means that they respond to issues as a collective, also.
Read the full article here
