NATO’s 31 member states have endorsed the Hague Defense Agreement, reached at the alliance’s June summit, which raises the bloc’s collective defence-spending goal to 5% of gross domestic product—more than double the longstanding 2% benchmark. Secretary General Mark Rutte credited U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election for the breakthrough, saying the agreement would not have materialised without his pressure and arguing that allies "should be praising him" for strengthening the alliance. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced that message in a USA Today opinion article on Wednesday, calling the deal a "big, beautiful win" for American taxpayers. Rubio said 29 of 31 allies already plan to meet or exceed the previous 2% target by 2025 and estimated the new 5% commitment could add more than $1 trillion a year to NATO’s combined defence budgets, on top of $700 billion in capability upgrades already under way. Rubio urged European governments to open forthcoming procurement to U.S. defence contractors but cautioned that ongoing trade frictions with the European Union could complicate bidding. The spending surge comes as allies work to replenish weapons supplied to Ukraine and to deter further Russian aggression.