President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the U.S. to cut all trade with Spain, escalating his feud with a key NATO member during the alliance’s summit in Ankara, Turkey
Trump described Spain as “a wasted cause” and said he no longer wants the U.S. doing business with the country
“Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits,” he told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in front of reporters. “Watch them come running back.”
Referring to Spain as a “terrible partner in NATO,” Trump alleged “they don’t participate, they don’t pay.”
He appeared to be referencing Spain’s refusal to commit to investing 5% of GDP annually on defense by 2035, after other member states agreed to the target at last year’s summit
“We don’t have to trade with them. I don’t want to do any more trade with them. All right, take it immediately,” Trump added. “Don’t even talk to them, they’re hopeless, bad people.”
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García issued a strong rebuke of Trump’s pointed criticism
“Trump calls Spain a ‘terrible partner’ because it accepts neither blackmail nor threats. Because we are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace,” she said. “Terrible is to confuse diplomacy with thuggery.”
A a magnificent social, cultural, and economic relationship with the U.S.A and it is not our intention that this will change.”
Relations between Washington and Madrid have become strained amid the fallout of the Iran war
Spanish Prime MinisterPedro Sánchez emerged as one of Europe’s most vocal critics, accusing the U.S. of dragging the world into a war that has brought only “insecurity and pain.”
Spain notably denied U.S. forces access to joint military bases for offensive operations against Iran and closed its airspace to American aircraft involved in the conflict
Trump has repeatedly singled out Spain over those decisions and first floated the idea of cutting trade with the country in March—an economic threat that was widely rebuked by European leaders. He did not follow through on the threat, but tensions remained high
A month later,an internal Pentagon emailreportedly suggested various ways the Administration could punish NATO allies it believes let the U.S. down by not actively supporting operations in the Iran war was said to be floating the idea of suspending Spain from the NATO alliance
“We do not work with emails,” Sánchez told reporters when asked about the matter at the European Union summit that same week. “We work with official documents and positions taken, in this case, by the government of the United States.”
Trump later threatened to withdraw American troops from both Spain and Italy, arguing both countries had failed the U.S. by refusing to get actively involved in the Iran war
David Blagden, an associate professor of international security and strategy at the University of Exeter, tells TIME that “attempts to use sanctions as coercion” forms part of Trump’s “broader pattern of dealing with allies.”
Since his first term, Trump has accused European allies of not investing enough in their own militaries and relying too heavily on U.S. contributions
Disagreements over the conflict, and Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, have further splintered relations between the U.S. and NATO allies in recent months
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In response to Trump’s latest trade threat, European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill said “we expect the U.S. to honor its commitments… as we have honored ours.”
The European Union’s side of a trade deal struck with the U.S. last year came into effect on July 1
