Trump Threatens to Halt All Trade With Spain Over NATO Spending

President Trump said on Wednesday that he had told his Treasury secretary to "cut off all trade" with Spain, escalating a dispute with the NATO ally over military spending. Speaking at the alliance's summit in Ankara, Trump called Spain a poor partner; Spanish officials responded coolly, and analysts said the threat could not be carried out as described.

What Trump said

Trump said he had instructed the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, to halt commerce with Spain, CNBC reported. His anger centered on defense spending: NATO members agreed in June to work toward spending 5 percent of national income on defense by 2035, up from a longstanding 2 percent goal, and Spain was the one member to secure an understanding that it could aim lower, committing to a level closer to 2 percent. Spain has raised its defense budget in recent years but argues it can meet its obligations without hitting the new figure.

Why a cutoff is unlikely

Trade experts said a US president cannot simply stop trade with a single EU country. Trade policy for Spain is set at the European Union level, with the European Commission negotiating tariffs and agreements for all 27 member states, Euronews reported. Any move aimed at Spain alone would run into that structure and could draw a coordinated EU response. US law also limits unilateral action: one commonly cited provision caps emergency tariffs at 15 percent for up to 150 days without Congress. Deeply integrated European supply chains would make singling out Spanish goods harder still.

Spain's response

Madrid played the threat down. Spanish officials said they were treating the comments as business as usual and had no intention of changing what they called an excellent relationship with the United States, U.S. News reported. Officials also noted that the United States runs a trade surplus with Spain, implying Washington has its own interest in the commerce continuing. Spain's government is led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose refusal to sign up to the higher spending target has become a recurring point of friction with Washington.

Not the first time

This was not a new threat. Trump made a similar call to cut trade with Spain earlier in the year, and no stoppage followed; commerce carried on as before. That history colored the reaction in Europe, where officials and analysts treated Wednesday's remarks as political pressure rather than an imminent policy. The underlying dispute, over who pays how much for Europe's defense, is likely to outlast the headline.