Trump Warns Of Tariffs On Spain For Rejecting NATO’s 5% Defense Spending Target

President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a stern warning to Spain, threatening to impose trade tariffs in response to the country’s refusal to raise its defense spending to 5% of GDP, a move he described as an insult to NATO.

“I’m very unhappy with Spain. They’re the only country that didn’t raise their number up to 5%… so I’m not happy with Spain,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“I was thinking of giving them trade punishment through tariffs because of what they did, and I think I may do that,” he added.

Trump, who has consistently pressed NATO members to take on greater financial responsibility for their defense, reiterated his frustration with what he views as an imbalance in the alliance’s contributions. During a meeting last week with Finland’s president, he suggested that NATO should consider expelling Spain for refusing to adopt the higher spending target.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares responded on Wednesday, affirming Madrid’s continued commitment to the alliance. “There is no doubt about Spain’s commitment and contribution to (transatlantic) security,” he told reporters during an official trip to Hangzhou, China.

Spain currently has around 3,000 troops serving under NATO operations. However, it remains the only one among the alliance’s 32 members that declined to meet the newly proposed 5% defense expenditure benchmark.

NATO allies have argued that the ongoing threat posed by Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine requires significantly higher defense budgets, making the previous 2% spending goal insufficient.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez negotiated an exemption during the talks, pledging instead to allocate up to 2.1% of GDP toward defense — a figure he described as “sufficient and realistic.”

Spain, which joined NATO in 1982, maintains that its robust participation in alliance missions offsets its lower defense spending. The country continues to contribute troops to NATO operations in Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey.