Trump threatens Spain trade cutoff in NATO spending clash
Why it matters: Spain is in the EU customs bloc, so any U.S. move against Spanish trade would trigger wider legal and diplomatic fallout.
President Donald Trump threatened to cut off U.S. trade with Spain at the NATO summit in Ankara, escalating a dispute over Madrid’s defense spending. Trump singled out Spain as the only ally not committed to NATO’s 5% of GDP defense target by 2035 and urged an end to trade and travel ties. Spain spent 2.1% of GDP on defense in 2025, up from 1.4% in 2021, according to SIPRI data cited by CNBC. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte noted Spain had raised spending to 2% but said issues remained. Spain’s prime minister’s office downplayed Trump’s remarks and said bilateral trade and defense ties benefit both countries. It was unclear whether Trump was signaling a formal policy change.