US President Donald Trump has issued a warning that he may impose punitive tariffs on Spain over its failure to meet NATO’s new defense spending requirements, intensifying pressure on Madrid to increase its military budget. During a press briefing at the White House, Trump expressed frustration with Spain, claiming that the country had been ‘unbelievably disrespectful’ to the military alliance. He also hinted that tariffs could be a possible response to the perceived slights.
Earlier this month, Trump had suggested expelling Spain from NATO altogether over its refusal to increase military spending. During a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in the Oval Office, he emphasized that Spain had ‘no excuse’ for not meeting the spending requirements. Trump has consistently pushed NATO members to allocate more funds to defense, a stance he has maintained since taking office in January.
Trump’s push culminated at the June summit in The Hague, where NATO members committed to increasing defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035. Spain emerged as the strongest opponent of the increase, arguing that the target was ‘absolutely impossible’ to achieve. Madrid did not meet the previous NATO spending threshold of 2% of GDP either, and it allocated around 1.3% of its GDP on defense last year. Ahead of the summit, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez argued that Spain ‘cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP’ at the meeting.
Following the summit, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles dismissed the 5% spending target as ‘absolutely impossible.’ She argued that European defense industries would not be able to ‘take it on’ even if governments provided them with enough funding. Madrid has not reacted to Trump’s latest statements so far, maintaining a cautious position in the face of potential economic repercussions.