Spain reacts after Donald Trump threatens to cut trade: “it’s treating it as usual” | Today’s news
Responding to US President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off trade, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s office said it was treating the remarks as “business as usual”.
“Our country enjoys excellent social, cultural and economic relations with the US and it is not our intention to change that,” the prime minister’s office said in an official statement.
A Spanish government spokesman previously issued a similar statement, saying the country was “responding to these remarks calmly and as a matter of course.” The spokesman emphasized that the two countries have an “excellent” relationship, noting that the US has a trade surplus with Spain.
“Economic ties are built by private companies, not governments,” the spokesman added.
What did Trump say at NATO?
At a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara, Trump said he had ordered his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut trade ties with Spain, calling Madrid a “terrible partner” in NATO.
“Spain is a waste. We don’t want to do business with Spain anymore,” Trump said. “By the way, I’d like to cut it off. Spain is a terrible NATO partner. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I want nothing to do with Spain. Cut off all business with Spain, including visits.”
Trade war between the US and Spain
This is not the first time Trump has threatened to cut economic ties with Spain. In March he said he had ordered Bessent to “cease all trade with Spain”.
This comes after Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez denied access to his country’s military bases for the US bombing campaign against Iran. Unlike some European leaders who sought to placate Trump, Sánchez found his standing at home benefiting from criticism of Trump’s actions.
Spain also faced criticism at the 2025 NATO summit, when Sánchez was the only leader of the alliance’s 32 countries to refuse to commit to a defense spending target of 5% of GDP. Spain has increased defense spending from 1.42% of GDP in 2024 to 2% in 2025 and has no plans to raise it above 2.1%, even as other allies push for higher military spending.
Trump did not explain how he might follow through on his threats against Spain, given that Spain is a member of the European Union, which oversees the bloc’s foreign trade.
