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Senate overwhelmingly rebukes Trump with tariff vote

<p>President Donald Trump has been clear about his goal for the NATO summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12.</p><p>He wants the other NATO members to increase their defense spending.</p><p>Here's what's going on: There are 29 <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/nato_countries.htm" target="_blank">NATO member countries</a>. The organization asks its members to contribute 2 percent of their GDP to defense spending. But this rarely happens. In 2017, only <a href="https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2017_06/20170629_170629-pr2017-111-en.pdf" target="_blank">a few countries</a> met that goal. The U.S. was one of them, spending a little more than 3.5 percent of its GDP on defense. </p><p>A senior White House official told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ahead-of-nato-and-putin-summits-trumps-unorthodox-diplomacy-rattles-allies/2018/07/06/16c7aa4e-7006-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4b54789a0483" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> that President Trump has threatened to cut Washington's spending on Europe's defense if other countries don't step up. </p><p>"I’m gonna tell NATO: 'You gotta start paying your bills. The United States is not gonna take care of everything,'" Trump said at a rally in Montana. </p><p>As <a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/nato-s-2-percent-goal-isn-t-the-only-metric-for-the-alliance/" target="_blank">Newsy has previously reported</a>, defense spending isn't the only benchmark for whether member countries are pulling their weight in the alliance. NATO also tracks some other indicators, like deployability abroad.</p><p>After the NATO summit, President Trump is expected to head to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 16 in Helsinki. </p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/dozens-dead-or-missing-after-heavy-rains-in-japan/">Dozens Dead After Heavy Rains In Japan Cause Flooding, Landslides</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/first-of-12-boys-stuck-in-thai-cave-being-rescued/">The First Of 12 Boys Stuck In A Thai Cave Are Being Rescued</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/north-korea-denuclearization-talks-with-us-regrettable/">North Korea Calls Denuclearization Talks With US 'Regrettable'</a></li></ul>
<p>Trump told reporters Wednesday, "Many countries are not paying what they should, and many countries, frankly, owe us a tremendous amount of money for many years back."</p><p>President Trump has long complained that the U.S. is spending too much money and carrying too much of the burden for the other members of the NATO military alliance. So how exactly is NATO funded? And what does the U.S. investment in it look like?</p><p>Well, each of NATO's 29 members pay a share of their Gross National Income towards NATO's main budgets. All told, <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_67655.htm?selectedLocale=en" target="_blank">NATO estimates</a> that will add up to about $2.6 billion in 2018. The U.S. will pay 22 percent of that, or $570 million.</p><p>But that money doesn't cover NATO's actual operations in the field. The alliance instead relies on voluntary contributions of troops and equipment. And the U.S. ends up providing a lot of those capabilities: NATO has an admitted "over-reliance" on the U.S. </p><p>And the U.S. does not rely on NATO operations alone to protect its strategic interests in Europe. There are currently 75,000 U.S. personnel stationed in the European theater, according to the Dept of Defense. And the Pentagon's European Deterrence Initiative, which helps bolster NATO allies' capabilities, <a href="https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2019/fy2019_EDI_JBook.pdf" target="_blank">is planning on</a> a $6.5 billion budget in fiscal year 2019.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/senate-approves-non-binding-motion-supporting-nato/">Senate Overwhelmingly Approves Non-binding Motion Supporting NATO</a></b></p><p>NATO nations do chip in a bit to help cover the costs to the U.S. But more than a few NATO nations have let their defense budgets languish in favor of other priorities, counting on the U.S. to pick up the defense tab.</p><p>NATO is working to turn things around: it's set a target for allies to devote 2 percent of their GDP to defense spending by 2024. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he expects seven European allies to meet that standard this year — up from just two in 2014.</p><p>But even that 2 percent target <a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/nato-s-2-percent-goal-isn-t-the-only-metric-for-the-alliance/" target="_blank">doesn't accurately predict</a> how much a nation can contribute to the alliance. Focusing just on spending can obscure other strengths and weakness in a country's military force.</p><p>As things stand right now, NATO relies heavily on the support and contributions of the U.S. The alliance could find itself <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ahead-of-nato-summit-allies-wonder-will-nato-survive-trump/2018/07/08/3af62604-8134-11e8-b3b5-b61896f90919_story.html?utm_term=.22be48986df3" target="_blank">severely weakened</a> if Trump keeps pushing for less U.S. involvement.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/thai-officials-release-video-of-soccer-players-recovering/">Thai Officials Release Video Of Soccer Players Recovering After Rescue</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/un-south-sudanese-troops-killed-raped-scores-of-civilians/">UN Says South Sudanese Troops Killed, Violated Scores Of Civilians</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/german-interior-minister-presents-immigration-master-plan/">German Interior Minister Presents Immigration 'Master Plan'</a></li></ul>
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For the second day in a row, the Senate pushed back on President Donald Trump, showing stiff resistance to his key policy decisions on tariffs and NATO even as the President is at a summit in Europe wrestling with allies over those same issues.

Senators voted overwhelmingly Wednesday calling on Trump to get congressional approval before using national security as a reason for imposing tariffs on other nations, as he did recently with steel and aluminum levies against Mexico, Canada and the European Union.

The bipartisan 88-to-11 tally on the non-binding resolution sends a message to the White House about how frustrated senators are over Trump's disruptive moves on tariffs.

However, future efforts to pass enforceable legislation likely face an uphill battle over Trump's objections.

"Let's be clear, this is a rebuke of the President's abuse of trade authority," said Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican and a frequent and vocal critic of Trump's policies. "Can you imagine being Canada and being told your steel and aluminum exports to the United States (are) a national security threat?"

On Tuesday, the Senate voted 97-2 in favor of a pro-NATO resolution, just as Trump was touching down in Brussels and blasting the security alliance on Twitter for a host of reasons, including that many nations don't spend 2% of their GDP on defense.

The tariffs measure was written by Sen. Bob Corker, a retiring Tennessee Republican who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican and a free-trader from a steel producing state. They believe this vote will help build momentum for future tougher legislation, although it is not clear if they could get supermajority support in the Senate and House to override a likely veto, especially if Trump worked actively against it.

"This is a vote for Congress to assume its rightful role," Corker said. "It's a baby step."

The measure would require congressional approval of tariffs issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which requires national security concerns to be the driving reason for imposing the tariffs.

Mexico, Canada and the European Union -- longtime allies of the US -- were incredulous they were considered a national security risk to the United States and issued tariffs against US goods in response.

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The vote on the tariffs measure helps clear up another matter for Senate GOP leaders and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who are working diligently to get Trump's judicial nominees confirmed.

Flake used his ability in the narrowly-divided chamber to block appeals court judges as leverage for forcing a vote on the tariffs measure. That stalled action in the Judiciary Committee and on the floor while GOP leaders worked to find a way to assuage Flake.

Flake initially insisted he would only accept a vote on a "substantive" measure but accepted the non-binding resolution instead. He told CNN he would lift his "holds" on those judges following this vote.

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