The American president, Donald Trump threatened Spain this Tuesday with imposing trade retaliation for not having committed to allocate 5% of your GDP on military spending.
Trump described the position of Pedro Sánchez’s Government towards NATO as “incredibly disrespectful,” the agency said. EFE.
“I think it’s disrespectful to NATO. In fact, I was thinking about imposing trade punishment on them through tariffs for what they did, and I could do that. I think it’s incredibly disrespectful,” Trump said during a meeting with the Argentine president Javier Milei in the White House.
The US president, who had previously criticized the level of Spanish military spending, insisted that He is “very upset with Spain”which he accused of benefiting from the protection of the Alliance without fulfilling the commitments made.
“It is the only country that has not reached 5%. All the other NATO countries have reached it, and Spain is doing very well at our expense,” Trump said, recalling that the European nation “receives automatic protection” due to its strategic location.
Trump says that Spain is a “problem” in NATO for refusing to increase defense spending
Spain highlights the good bilateral relationship with the US
After the statements, The Spanish Government downplayed the threats and defended the good bilateral relationship with Washingtonhighlighting the greeting between Trump and Sánchez during the Gaza peace summit held in Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) on Monday.
Sources from the Spanish Executive indicated that the meeting between both leaders “confirms the relationship between both countries in an official act of great international significance.”
During that meeting, in a relaxed tone, Trump addressed Sánchez with an allusion to military spending:
“Are you working to convince him about the GDP? Let’s get closer, you’re doing a fantastic job,” he told other leaders gathered to support the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
A new episode of friction
Last week, Trump had even suggested the possible departure of Spain from NATO if the 5% goal was not reached, compared to the current 2.1%.
The Spanish Government then responded that the country “is a full and committed member of the Alliance,” and that it meets its capacity objectives “as much as the United States.”
#BREAKING | Brussels warns that it will respond “appropriately” to any retaliation against EU countries following Trump’s threats to Spain. pic.twitter.com/gbqV6pUjin
— EFE News (@EFEnoticias) October 15, 2025
At the last NATO summit, Spain was the only country that did not commit to the new goal of 5% of GDP in military spendingan objective promoted by Washington after the start of the war in Ukraine and the increase in global tensions.
Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) assured this Wednesday that it will respond “appropriately to any trade measure” against a member state of the European Union (EU), following Trump’s threats.
