Spain pushed back Wednesday(7/8/26) after President Donald Trump called for cutting off trade with the country during a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where disputes over military spending and the Iran war spilled into public view.
Trump criticized Spain for refusing to support NATO’s new goal for members to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense by 2035. Spain has not agreed to that target, making it the only member of the alliance to hold out. The president said Spain was not doing enough for NATO and told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop trade with the country.
“I don’t want to do any trade with them,” Trump said. Bessent responded, “Yes, sir.”
The comments added another point of tension at a summit that European leaders had hoped would show unity inside the alliance. Trump also complained about other NATO members and repeated claims involving Greenland, though later he said there was “a lot of unity” at the meeting.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tried to lower the temperature. He said his conversation with Trump at the summit was “very cordial” and told reporters they discussed the World Cup and golf, not defense spending. Sanchez also said Spain remains a dependable NATO member and announced a new deployment of Spanish troops to Finland for NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission.
Spain has raised its military spending in recent years, though it is still below the level Trump wants. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte defended Spain’s progress, saying the country had made a large move by reaching about 2% of GDP. He also said there were still problems to work through.
The trade order may not be simple to carry out. European Union rules require trade policy to be handled by the bloc, not by separate member states. Sanchez’s office also said Spain runs a trade deficit with the United States and that most economic ties between the two countries are built through private companies.
A U.S. official said federal agencies would prepare a list of Spanish products that could possibly be embargoed. Trade lawyers said Trump could try to use emergency economic powers, but that would likely require a national emergency declaration and evidence that Spain threatens U.S. security, foreign policy, or the economy.
This is not the first time Trump has threatened Spain over NATO spending. He made a similar statement in March, but trade between the two countries continued normally afterward.
The dispute also touches on military cooperation. The United States and Spain jointly operate two major bases in southern Spain for naval and air operations. Spanish officials said they were not aware of any U.S. plans to reduce forces or equipment at those bases, and they said investment there is growing.
Business ties have also continued despite the political clash. BlackRock has called Spain its preferred country for equity exposure because of its economic growth, and the company holds large amounts of Spanish assets. Spain sells products such as olive oil, auto parts, steel, chemicals and wine to the United States, though analysts say Spain is less exposed to U.S. trade than some other European countries.
USA = Green
Spain = Blue
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