Acting Pentagon chief denies US wants ‘cost-plus-50%’ from allies for bases

Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan on Thursday denied reports that the US has a “cost-plus-50 percent” formula for allies to pay for the US military presence on their soil. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that President Donald Trump is pushing the formula as a basis for Germany, Japan and other allies. “We won’t do cost-plus-50 percent,” Shanahan told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a hearing. US partners should pay their “fair share” when they can, but there was no such business-like formula, AFP quoted him as saying. “We’re not going to run a business and we’re not going to run a charity,” Shanahan said. Since coming into office, Trump has warned US allies, especially in NATO and East Asia, to pay more for the US presence.