President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to suspend trade with Spain, accusing the NATO ally of failing to meet defense spending commitments and refusing to allow U.S. forces to use Spanish bases to support operations connected to recent strikes against Iran.
Speaking during a meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he had directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings with Spain,” describing the country as “unfriendly” and sharply criticizing its leadership.
“We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain,” Trump told reporters. “We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
The president argued that Spain was the only NATO member to reject his call for allies to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product — a significant jump from NATO’s current 2% benchmark. Trump has long pressed European nations to shoulder a larger share of the alliance’s defense costs, contending that the United States has carried a disproportionate burden for decades.
He also claimed that Madrid had informed Washington it could not use certain Spanish bases in support of what he referred to as Operation Epic Fury. Trump did not specify which installations were involved.
The United States maintains access to Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base under a longstanding defense cooperation agreement with Spain. That agreement allows U.S. forces to operate from designated Spanish facilities; however, Spain retains sovereignty over the bases and must authorize activities that fall outside the agreement’s defined scope.
Spain has historically participated in NATO missions and hosts rotational U.S. forces as part of broader European security arrangements. However, Spain’s defense spending has remained below NATO’s 2% target in recent years, drawing criticism from some U.S. officials who argue that burden-sharing within the alliance must be strengthened amid rising global tensions.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, total goods trade between the United States and Spain reached approximately $47 billion in 2025. The United States ran a trade surplus of about $4.8 billion with Spain during that period.
