US President Donald Trump ordered the US to cut off all trade with Spain during the NATO summit in Ankara, escalating a public dispute with a key European ally.
“We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO,” Trump said on Wednesday.
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Trump doubled down on his demand, calling for a complete severing of economic ties.
“Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits,” Trump said. “Watch them come running back. He will come running back.”
Trump has previously clashed with Spain over defense spending, with Madrid the only NATO member that declined to commit to spending 5% of GDP on defense in 2025. Spain’s military spending rose above 2% of GDP that year, up modestly from the 1.4% reported by the World Bank in 2024.
Trump also accused Spain of mistreating NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: “They treat Mark Rutte terribly.”
Trump then continued his attack, urging US officials to avoid engagement with Madrid entirely.
“Don’t even talk to Spain. They are hopeless. They are bad people,” Trump said.
He predicted Spain would eventually seek to restore ties.
“Spain will come to us saying, ‘Please, please, we want to trade with you, sir.’ I want no business with them,” Trump said.
Spain dismisses remarks as “business as usual”
The Spanish prime minister’s office issued a statement dismissing Trump’s comments.
“Spain is treating these statements as business as usual,” the statement says. “Spain has strong social, cultural, and economic ties with the US, and we do not plan to change this.”
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NATO chief Rutte reportedly attempted to convince Trump that Spain pays for its defense, but Trump appeared unconvinced.
Trump has also voiced his frustration with Spain apart from Madrid’s defense spending, whose left-wing government refused to let US planes use its bases for attacks during the war in Iran and resisted NATO defense spending increases.
“Spain has been terrible,” Trump told reporters in March. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
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