Trump orders a halt to US trade with Spain – POLITICO

Skip to main content

Advertisement

POLITICO Pro

Log In

POLITICO Pro

Trump orders a halt to US trade with Spain

“Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” says U.S. president.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in Ankara, Turkey on July 7, 2026. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

This article is also available in: German

July 8, 2026

11:30 am CET

By

Laura Kayali and

Megan Messerly

ANKARA, Turkey — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was cutting off trade with Spain over defense spending — reviving a long-running feud between Washington and Madrid.

"I didn't speak to Spain. Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore," he told reporters ahead of a meeting with fellow NATO leaders in Ankara.

"By the way, I'd like you to cut it off," he added, appearing to address U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trump's feud with Spain goes back to last year's NATO summit. Madrid was the only ally refusing to endorse NATO's new 2035 target of spending 5 percent of GDP on defense, deeply angering Washington. The U.S. president has repeatedly threatened to respond with tariffs.

However, it's unclear how Trump's idea would work as Spain is a member of the EU, which is in charge of trade policy for all of its member countries.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also criticized Trump's decision to go to war with Iran and refused to let the U.S. use military bases in Spain for the campaign, deepening the dispute between the two countries.

"Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits," Trump said. "Let's see how hostile they remain when they call up, and they say 'please, please, we want to trade with you, sir.'"