How much is Lithuania paying/cost-sharing for the US troop presence in their country?

Question

It's been suggested in some comments (and now an answer) to a related Q that the US is expected to demand lest cost sharing from Germany than from South Korea, for US troop presence, because Germany is not at a risk of direct attack. But maybe Lithuania is at more of a risk, according to various officials from the region (and to Stars and Stripes):

No one at the General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in Pabradė would mention Russia by name. But the simulation of an invasion by a “peer enemy” took place just 10 miles from Belarus, Russia’s closest ally [...] The Baltics no longer consider Belarus an autonomous country, viewing it instead as a “satellite of Russian military intentions,” said Artis Pabriks, a former Latvian defense minister. [...]

“Russia considers the Baltic states to be the most vulnerable part of NATO, which would make them a focus of military pressure in the event of a NATO-Russia conflict,” the Estonian service said. [...]

President Vladimir Putin last year likened himself to Peter the Great, praising the czar’s conquest of the Baltic coast in the 18th century as the “returning” and “strengthening” of land that was rightfully Russian. [...]

The U.S. began sending long-term rotational forces of about 500 troops to Pabradė in 2019, and Lithuania, eager to turn the deployments into a permanent stay, inaugurated a new camp for American soldiers there two years later.

So, what is known about the cost-sharing that Lithuania offers for the (relatively small) US troop presence?

Answer 1

Following alfa.lt, over five years of NATO membership Lithuania has paid NATO about 10 million euro of various taxes and spent 40 million more on the reconstruction of the military airport Zokniai. The total GDP of Lithuania is somewhat 70 billion so does not look like expensive.

The largest costs of NATO membership comes from the necessity to spend 2 % of GDP for defense, not from some "membership fees". Lithuania used to spend less, more about 1.7%, but they acknowledge this is not good and aiming to reach this spending. A NATO neutral country may need to spend the comparable amount for the adequate defense, if not more.

Answer 2

If we are talking about non-monetary options, perhaps Lithuania is paying by its cutting of ties with mainland China and being the first EU state to recognize Taiwan, as suggested by this answer.

It has started in 2021 (the same year when permanent US base opened) and "Only 13% of Lithuanians view the policies positively." Perhaps that's the payment.

Answer 3

The official expectation is to spend at least 2% of GDP on military. This indirectly feeds money into the US military production industry, so it indirectly pays out. If there are other agreements, those are usually kept a secret.

The low military spending, the poor state of the German army, the naive attitude towards Russia, all contributed to friction between Germany, US and other NATO allies up until the first months of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when Germany finally agreed to up its spending. I'm not sure where the idea that Germany has a special agreement with US came from, that's pretty bogus given public data available.