From left: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8. (Saul Loeb\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n July 8, 2026 9:59 AM, EDT<\/p>\n
Key Takeaways:![\"Toggle](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/expand.png\" "\\"Toggle")
\nPresident Donald Trump on July 8 called for ending U.S. trade with Spain during a NATO summit appearance with Secretary General Mark Rutte in Ankara.Trump cited Spain\u2019s refusal to back the Iran conflict and its lower defense spending, while Spain emphasized strong bilateral ties and a U.S. trade surplus.Spain and the European Commission signaled they expect existing trade agreements to continue, even as markets reacted and Trump has not detailed how such a cutoff would work. <\/p>\n
President Donald Trump once again called for an end to trade with Spain, citing its lack of support for the war in Iran and what he described as its failure to meet NATO commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpain is a wasted cause,\u201d Trump said on July 8, sitting next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Ankara, where the military alliance leaders were holding their annual summit. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore.\u201d\n \t \t\t<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like you to cut it off,\u201d Trump said, turning to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was also in the room. \u201cSpain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don\u2019t participate, they don\u2019t pay. I don\u2019t want anything to do with Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s IBEX stock index fell 2.1% after Trump\u2019s comments.\n \t\t<\/p>\n
Minutes after Trump\u2019s remarks, a spokesperson for the Spanish government said the country \u201cis responding to these remarks calmly and as a matter of course.\u201d The spokesperson stressed that the two countries have an \u201cexcellent\u201d relationship, noting the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Spain.<\/p>\n
.@POTUS<\/a>: “Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore by the way… Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain.” pic.twitter.com\/3prqux6p54<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEconomic ties are built by private companies, not by governments,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n This is not the first time Trump has made threats to cut off economic links to Spain. Back in March<\/a>, he said he had directed Bessent to \u201ccut off all trade with Spain.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That came after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez denied access to his country\u2019s military bases for the U.S. bombing campaign against Iran. Unlike some European leaders who have tried to placate Trump, S\u00e1nchez has found that his standing at home has benefited from criticizing Trump\u2019s actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spain also faced criticism at the 2025 NATO summit, when S\u00e1nchez was the only leader from the alliance\u2019s 32 countries to refuse to commit to a defense spending target of 5% of GDP. Spain increased defense spending from 1.42% of GDP in 2024 to 2% in 2025 and does not plan to raise it beyond 2.1%, even as other allies push for higher military spending.<\/p>\n Rutte tried to both defend Spain and give Trump credit for making the country boost defense expenditures.<\/p>\n \u201cEven you got Spain to pay 2%,\u201d he said, referencing the alliance\u2019s former spending goal. \u201cThey made a huge step last year. There are issues we have to solve, but even Spain got to the 2%.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin Clark of Cox Fleet discusses how fleets should rethink their maintenance strategies to stay efficient and resilient.\u00a0Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump has not explained how he could follow through on his threats toward Spain, given it\u2019s a member of the European Union, which oversees matters of foreign trade for the entire bloc. He has, however, suggested the U.S. president can impose a full embargo on goods from any country.<\/p>\n The European Commission, the EU\u2019s executive arm, noted that the EU has a trade deal with the U.S., which the bloc recently ratified.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect the U.S. to honor its commitments,\u201d commission spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels, calling the transatlantic economic relationship \u201cmutually beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"RoadSigns\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/RoadSigns-generic.jpg\"\/)
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