Donald Trump slams Spain's 'disrespectful' defence spending and threatens more trade tariffs

Donald Trump has expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the Spanish government for not having raised its defence spending to 5% of GDP, as Washington demands of its Nato allies. "I was thinking of giving them trade punishment through tariffs because of what they did and I think I may do that," said the US president speaking at the White House.

This is one of the most direct attacks in the history of the bilateral relationship, with an open confrontation between two economic and military partners that maintain two jointly used bases for the US armed forces, equipped with Aegis air and missile defence system ships.

"Spain has done something very, very wrong to Nato," Trump said during his meeting with Argentinian president Javier Milei at the White House. Last Thursday, he proposed to expel Spain from Nato - something for which there is no mechanism.

"I am very unhappy with Spain. They're the only country that didn't raise their number up to 5%... so I'm not happy with Spain," Trump said.

The US president did not single out Spain when imposing universal reciprocal tariffs of 15%, the same as for the rest of the EU. On occasions, he has threatened additional sanctions of up to 50% for the purchase of Venezuelan crude oil.

Trump went on to explain that Spain benefits from Nato's protection because of its location, surrounded by allies. The US president said that nobody would cross other countries to attack Spain, which makes it an automatically protected country, regardless of its defence spending, which is why he believes that PM Pedro Sánchez's spending decision is "very unfair". Trump has described the Spanish government's attitude as "very disrespectful to Nato". This is an unusually harsh tone for a military partner.

The threat of expulsion came during Finnish president Alexander Stubb's visit to the Oval Office, during which Trump praised Finland and other countries that invest more in defence.

Tensions between the US and Spain were reignited after Trump and Sánchez's brief greeting in Egypt on 13 October, during the international summit for peace in Gaza. Sánchez was invited to the group photo and the ceremony, but not to the smaller meeting attended by Giorgia Meloni, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, among others.

While Trump praised Finland for its increased military spending and its "fantastic work" within Nato, he singled out Spain as "the only laggard" to spend so little on defence (2% of GDP), when the agreed target is 5%.

Trump has been criticising Spain since his return to power. During a television interview in June, he said that Spain is "notorious" for its low defence spending. According to Nato, the country spent 1.24% of its GDP in 2024 (17.2 billion euros). The Moncloa states that it will be able to meet its commitments with 2.1%, although this is considered unrealistic in Brussels.

Nato sources quoted by Reuters confirm that secretary Mark Rutte has sent a letter to Sánchez in which he had said that Spain will have "flexibility to determine its own sovereign path" to fulfil its military objectives. Mistrust, however, prevails in Washington and Brussels.

During the meeting with Stubb, Trump also congratulated Rutte for the work he's done at Nato. For Trump, increased defence spending is crucial in the face of the open front in Ukraine. He believes that allies should contribute as much as the US in military and other aid to Kyiv.

The Aegis system, which also protects Spain, was developed by the US and used by its navy and several allies, including Japan, South Korea and Norway. It combines advanced radars, interceptor missiles and an integrated control centre to detect, track and destroy threats in the air or at sea, such as cruise or ballistic missiles.

Trump has previously said that Madrid's defence expenditure was "too low" and even suggested it could be considered a 'Brics' country, referring to the bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Spain does not belong to that group.

On Tuesday, Trump added that his threats to impose tariffs on those joining the Brics have effectively killed that union of emerging economies de facto.