The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Tuesday that he will cut off all trade with Spain after the refusal of the socialist government of Pedro Sánchez to authorize the use of Spanish military bases for operations against Iran and its refusal to increase defense spending within NATO.
During a meeting at the White House with the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Trump was categorical in expressing his discomfort with Madrid.
“I could stop everything related to Spain, all businesses related to Spain; I have the right to stop it. Embargoes. I do what I want with them, and we could do it with Spain. We are going to cut off all trade with Spain,” he said.
The US president also stated that he “wants nothing to do” with Spain and described the position of the Spanish government as “terrible”.
Donald Trump and Friedrich Merz.
The controversy broke out after the socialist Pedro Sánchez did not authorize the use of the Morón and Rota bases as part of military operations against Tehran, a decision that generated strong rejection in Washington in the midst of the offensive in
the Middle East.
Trump insisted that the bilateral relationship could be seriously affected. “Spain has absolutely nothing we need, except for great people. They have great people, but they lack great leadership,” he said, criticizing Spanish political
leadership.
When asked about the feasibility of imposing an embargo, the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, said that the Supreme Court of the United States “has reaffirmed the capacity to implement an embargo” through executive channels, which opens the door to a unilateral decision by the White House.
President Donald Trump.
Spain's defense spending In
addition to the disagreement over military bases, Trump once again questioned that Spain is the only member of NATO that did not commit to raising its defense spending to 5%
of GDP.
This goal has been promoted by Washington as part of a strategy to strengthen the alliance's joint military capacity in the face of global threats.
In that context, Merz supported the American position and expressed concern about the Spanish position. “Spain is the only one that is not willing to accept it. And we are trying to convince them that this is part of our common security and that we must all comply with these figures,” said the German Chancellor
