US President Halts Trade with Spain Over NATO Issues

President Donald Trump has instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to immediately stop trade with Spain, criticizing its lack of commitment to the NATO alliance and calling it a “terrible” ally.

This announcement came after Trump’s conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a summit held in Ankara, Turkey. For years, a significant focus for President Trump has been revitalizing NATO’s European members and ensuring the alliance serves as a credible deterrent against potential threats in the Euro-Atlantic area. His message to current NATO members emphasizes the need for improvement.

In addition to announcing the trade halt with Spain, Trump indicated that the truce with Iran is likely over, expressing discontent with Iranian actions regarding a memorandum and commenting on Denmark’s position toward Iceland. He highlighted Spain’s failure to meet NATO’s defense spending goal, clinging instead to an outdated target of 2% of GDP, and criticized them for not supporting the U.S. in its dealings with Iran. “We don’t need to trade with them. We don’t want any more trade… Accept it—it’s done. We’re not even going to engage. They’re bad people,” Trump remarked during the summit, addressing both Rutte and Bessent, who sat beside him.

Bessent agreed, suggesting that Trump sees Spain eventually coming back to the negotiation table.

Trump elaborated, stating, “Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t contribute, they’re open about their hostility.” He expressed dissatisfaction with how Spain treated Mark Rutte, who is viewed in Brussels as someone adept at maintaining good relations with Trump.

The specific implications of the trade suspension remain uncertain. Trump has previously threatened to limit trade with Spain due to its stance on international allies. European officials responded quickly, asserting that the U.S. lacks the authority to cease trade with Spain, and cautioned that doing so would likely harm the U.S. more than Spain.

An EU spokesperson urged the U.S. to honor its commitments but stated that Spain cannot be a target of such an embargo due to its status within the single market. This perspective was mirrored by a Spanish spokesperson, who insisted that their relationship with the United States remains unchanged.

They noted, “The United States enjoys a trade surplus with Spain, suggesting it benefits more from this arrangement… The bilateral relationship is advantageous for both nations.”

While it is accurate that the U.S. exports more goods to Spain than it imports, this doesn’t straightforwardly indicate that the U.S. would be the primary loser from any trade restrictions. Notably, much of Spain’s imports that skew the trade balance come from U.S. sources, particularly in energy, with liquid natural gas (LNG) accounting for a substantial portion—one-fifth over the past year. The U.S. satisfies a third of Spain’s total gas imports.

Spain’s energy security tends to be robust; however, recent power outages originating within its borders have caused disruptions across Europe, underscoring potential vulnerabilities.