Move FM Global News

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump on October 14 threatened to impose trade penalties, including tariffs, on Spain, saying he was angry over its refusal to raise defense spending to five percent of GDP, a target he has demanded from NATO members.

“I’m very unhappy with Spain. They’re the only country that didn’t raise their number to five percent, so I’m not happy with Spain,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I was thinking of giving them trade punishment through tariffs because of what they did — and I think I may do that.”

Trump has long pressed NATO countries to spend more on their own defense, warning that Washington may not protect members who fail to meet the alliance’s spending goals. Last week, while meeting Finland’s president, he went further — suggesting NATO should consider expelling Spain for refusing to meet the new five percent commitment.

Spanish officials pushed back firmly. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on August 15 that Spain remains a reliable NATO member and has about 3,000 soldiers deployed under the alliance. “There is no doubt about Spain’s commitment and contribution to transatlantic security,” Albares told reporters during a visit to Hangzhou, China.

NATO countries agreed earlier this year that the previous two percent defense spending goal was no longer enough, citing the growing threat from Russia’s war against Ukraine. Most members have since pledged to reach five percent of GDP, but Spain was the only one of the 32 allies not to sign on.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez negotiated a last-minute exemption, saying Spain would raise spending only to 2.1 percent of GDP, which he called “sufficient and realistic.”

Madrid argues that, while it spends less, it makes up for it with significant troop deployments to NATO operations in Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Spain joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1982 and says it continues to be a strong and active contributor to the alliance.