Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 25, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Trump demands Spain pay more in a trade deal due to its refusal to meet NATO defense spending targets, complicating US-EU negotiations.
By Jeff Mason
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States will make Spain pay twice as much for a trade deal after the country's refusal to meet a NATO defense spending target of 5% of gross domestic product.
NATO leaders backed a big increase in defense spending on Wednesday that Trump had demanded, but Spain declared that it does not need to meet the goal and can meet its commitments by spending much less.
Trump called Spain's decision "very terrible" and vowed to force the country to make up the difference.
"We're negotiating with Spain on a trade deal. We're going to make them pay twice as much," Trump said.
As a member of the European Union, Spain does not negotiate directly with the United States on trade - the European Commission handles those talks for the entire 27-nation bloc.
Trump may have a hard time following through on his threat to punish Spain through a trade pact unless he gets language on the issue into a broader EU agreement.
The Spanish Ministry of Economy declined to comment.
(Reporting By Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw; Additional reporting by Andrey Khalip; Editing by Mark Porter)
Trump called Spain's decision to refuse meeting NATO defense spending targets 'very terrible' and vowed to make the country pay more in trade negotiations.
Trump stated that the United States will make Spain pay twice as much for the trade deal due to its refusal to meet NATO defense spending commitments.
As a member of the European Union, Spain does not negotiate directly with the United States on trade; the European Commission manages those discussions for the entire EU.
Trump may struggle to enforce his threat to punish Spain unless he incorporates specific language regarding this issue into a broader agreement with the EU.
The Spanish Ministry of Economy declined to comment on Trump's remarks regarding the trade deal and NATO spending.
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