U.S. President Donald Trump announced at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday that he had directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all trade with Spain, branding Madrid a poor ally within the alliance.
Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as the summit got underway, Trump said he had no interest in continuing business ties with Spain. He has repeatedly voiced frustration with the country, which has declined to commit to NATO’s new defense spending target of 5% of GDP and whose Socialist government refused to grant the U.S. use of its airspace or military bases during the Iran war.
Trump told Rutte that Spain doesn’t agree to anything and shouldn’t be accommodated by the alliance. Turning to Bessent, he said he wanted no trade with Spain at all, instructing him to act immediately and skip any discussion with Spanish officials, calling them hopeless and accusing them of profiting heavily from the relationship while contributing little in return. Bessent responded with a simple acknowledgment.
Spain hosts two key U.S. military installations, Naval Station Rota and Moron Air Base. A Reuters source said in April that an internal Pentagon email had outlined potential measures against NATO members seen as failing to back U.S. operations in the Iran war, including a proposal to suspend Spain from the alliance altogether.
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