Trump’s plan to halve U.S. troops in Germany is not limited to Germany

U.S. President Donald Trump publicly announced on Monday (local time) that U.S. troops in Germany will be cut by half to 25,000, expressing strong dissatisfaction with Germany’s defense cost share. The plan to reduce U.S. troops in Germany, which has become known to the public with media coverage, has been confirmed by the president himself. This may also affect the size of the U.S. troops in South Korea, which are also in the middle of the defense cost-sharing issue.

“Germany, as you know, is very delinquent in their payments to NATO,” President Trump said on Monday. “So, Germany is delinquent, they've been delinquent for years and they owe NATO billions of dollars.” He also said Germany is taking advantage of and treating the U.S. badly on trade.

The president also emphasized that he was not just talking about Germany but also other countries as well. “So, I said until they pay, we're removing our soldiers, a number of our soldiers, by about half. Then when we get down to about 25,000, we'll see where we're going.”

The U.S. can send up to 52,000 troops to Germany, including troops on rotation, with 34,500 troops deployed to Germany at the moment. President Trump ordered the reduction of the U.S. troops in Germany by 9,500 from the current level by September, The Wall Street Journal and other media reported.


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