The United States and Spain have been at loggerheads since Spain declined to join other NATO allies last year in pledging to increase defense spending.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized Spain’s commitment to NATO, saying that the United States no longer wants to conduct trade with Madrid.
“Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” the president said on July 8 during a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara, Turkey.
“Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits.”
The United States and Spain have been at loggerheads since Spain declined to join other NATO allies last year in pledging to increase defense spending. Relations were further strained when Madrid refused to let U.S. forces use its military bases or airspace during missions in the Iran war.
The U.S. president suggested that the other NATO allies were carrying Spain, because it was not fulfilling its spending commitments.
“Spain doesn’t agree to anything, and you shouldn’t carry him,” he said.
In response, the office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said it was treating the U.S. president’s statements as business as usual, adding that bilateral relations benefited both countries.
Rising Tensions
On June 25, 2025, most NATO allies agreed to boost defense spending from 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5 percent by 2035, with 3.5 percent for core defense, such as troops, arms, and equipment, and the other 1.5 percent to be spent on related areas, such as security and infrastructure.
Spain said at the time that it had made a deal with NATO to exclude itself from the increased target.
“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do it,” Sánchez said.
He noted that Spain could meet all of its commitments to NATO, in terms of staff or equipment, by spending 2.1 percent of its GDP.
According to the latest estimates from NATO, Spain remains one of the lowest spenders on defense, having contributed about 2 percent of its GDP last year. The Czech Republic (2.01 percent), Belgium (2 percent), and Slovenia (1.61 percent) are also among the lowest spenders in the alliance.
