Politics

Trump threatens Spain with a trade war, promising he will 'personally negotiate' what is owed

The US president had strong words to say on the Spanish authorities: "It's terrible what you're doing and we're going to make you pay twice as much"

Thursday, 26 June 2025, 00:40

Donald Trump's threats toward Spain reached their climax in his final press conference following the summit in The Hague.

"It's terrible what Spain has done... It's the only country that wants to stay at 2%," said the US president, after Pedro Sánchez argued that his country can achieve Nato's capability targets by dedicating 2.1% of its GDP (gross domestic product) to defence, rather than the 5% requested by the White House and agreed on Wednesday in the Netherlands.

"They want to take advantage and I am going to make them pay double in the trade agreements we are negotiating with them because it's unfair," he declared.

The US leader has promised that he will "personally negotiate" with the Spanish authorities so that they "pay what they owe".

"They're the only country that wants to stay at 2% and their economy is doing very well. It's a shame, but all that could be wiped out if something bad were to happen," Trump stressed.

The president has put Spain in the firing line, the allied nation that, practically alone, opposed allocating 5% of its GDP to military investments. "Spain is a problem when it comes to defence spending," he said on Air Force One en route to The Hague. Then this Wednesday, in an interview with 'Politico', US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attributed Spain's reluctance to the 5% spend as being due to the "profound, domestic, political challenges" facing the Spanish government.

The 32 countries in the Nato alliance, including Spain, signed the final declaration of the Hague summit on Wednesday, committing to allocate 5% of their GDP to military spending by 2035. The initiative, devised by Secretary General Mark Rutte, envisages 3.5% for pure military spending and another 1.5% for indirect investments in security.

This formula has convinced the allies that were most reluctant to increase spending. However, in the case of Spain, its interpretation is that they will only need 2.1% of GDP to meet Nato's capability targets, something on which both Rutte and Trump disagree.