At the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8, 2026, Donald Trump said he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to suspend trade between the United States and Spain. Seated alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump called Spain a “terrible partner” and said, “I don’t want anything to do with Spain.” He tied his criticism to Spain’s defense spending and its position on using the jointly operated Rota and Morón military facilities for U.S. operations against Iran.
Trump also called Spain a “lost cause,” said he wanted no further dealings with the country and accused its government of treating Rutte poorly. His remarks revived a dispute over NATO’s five-percent defense-spending objective. Similar trade threats had come before, including a warning of “terrible tariffs” against Spain at a NATO gathering in The Hague, followed by another threat in March 2026. No Spain-specific trade cutoff had taken effect by the time of the Ankara remarks.
The defense-spending dispute hinges on both the headline figures and how NATO commitments are interpreted. NATO-related estimates for 2026 put Spain’s basic defense spending at 2.00% of GDP, compared with 2.10% for Italy, 2.22% for France, 2.69% for Germany and 4.68% for Poland. Madrid argues that roughly 2.1% of GDP is sufficient to meet its commitments under an arrangement that allows flexibility in how the newer target is fulfilled. The figures help explain the criticism of Spain’s spending level, but do not by themselves establish a breach of a legally enforceable NATO payment obligation.
Spain’s disagreement with Washington also concerns the U.S.-Spanish facilities at Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base. On March 2, 2026, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the bases “were not being used for the US war on Iran.” The facilities remain impressive to U.S. military operations and NATO activity in southern Europe. Military cooperation continued during the political dispute: when USS John Basilone arrived at Rota on October 14, the U.S. Navy still had a sixth destroyer based there.
The Spanish government responded to Trump’s comments with a statement emphasizing the countries’ social and cultural ties alongside their economic relationship, and saying Madrid did not want that relationship to change. La Moncloa also cited the U.S. trade surplus with Spain and stressed that commerce is driven largely by private companies. Spain says external trade policy is handled at European Union level, limiting the scope for a simple bilateral measure targeting a single member state. The European Commission negotiates and administers the bloc’s external trade arrangements, so any Spain-specific tariff or embargo would require a legally defined measure, not just a public demand.
Trade figures show commerce continued after the threats. In August 2026, Spanish exports to the United States rose 50.7% year over year to more than €1.461 billion, while imports from the United States increased 24.2% to €2.780 billion. From January through August, Spain exported more than €11.944 billion to the U.S. and imported €20.753 billion, leaving Spain with a goods-trade deficit of €8.808 billion, down 7.3% from the same period a year earlier. The figures, drawn from Spanish trade statistics, show that a comprehensive suspension had not halted bilateral commerce by then.
The wider EU-U.S. trade relationship offers further context. In October 2026, European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič described the relationship as “stabilized” despite unresolved disputes, including steel, and said the EU was meeting its commitments under the 2025 Turnberry declaration. The arrangement reportedly took effect in July 2026 and set a 15% ceiling on additional costs imposed on European imports, subject to U.S. compliance with its terms. This bloc-wide structure means a Spain-only trade measure would raise questions of EU competence as well as U.S. law.
Trump’s latest escalation adds to recurring tensions over defense contributions and military cooperation among NATO allies. Spain has continued to call for calm and continuity in its relations with Washington, while the dispute shows how national defense decisions and EU-level trade policy intersect in transatlantic relations.
Recent months have also brought other high-profile political disputes in Spain, including cases involving senior officials and public trust. Accountability in government came into focus when María Jesús Montero expressed regret over her trust in Vicente Fernández amid the Leire case investigation, as reported in coverage of the SEPI scandal. These developments point to challenges facing Spanish institutions at home and in their international partnerships.
Spain’s role within NATO and its economic ties to the United States remain impressive. The U.S. is one of Spain’s largest trading partners outside the EU, with trade spanning sectors from agriculture to technology. Any disruption could affect businesses and workers on both sides of the Atlantic. Under the EU’s collective trade policy structure, unilateral U.S. action would likely prompt a coordinated response from Brussels, rather than Spain acting alone.
