Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to halt all trade with Spain after Madrid refused to let the United States use Spanish military bases for its operation against Iran.
“I could tomorrow — or today, even better — stop everything having to do with Spain, all business having to do with Spain,” Trump told reporters at the White House. He called Spain “terrible” and said: “We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
It is not yet clear whether the administration will act on the threat. Imposing a trade embargo on Spain would be legally and diplomatically complicated, not least because Spain is a member of the European Union, which governs trade on behalf of all 27 of its member states.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backed Trump’s position, agreeing that the US had the legal authority to embargo Spanish goods. But when Trump pressed his Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, for support, Greer was non-committal. “We’re going to talk about it with you,” he said.
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The row began after Spain blocked Washington from using its southern military bases during strikes on Iran — a decision Madrid said was necessary to comply with the United Nations charter. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had called the US and Israeli attacks on Iran an “unjustified, dangerous military intervention” that broke international law.
Spain’s government said that if Washington wants to revisit the trade relationship, it must respect private companies’ autonomy, international law, and existing EU-US agreements.
The dispute also has a longer backstory. Trump has been pushing NATO allies to spend 5 per cent of their GDP on defence, a demand Spain has resisted. Trump has previously hinted at economic consequences for countries that refuse to comply.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met Trump on Tuesday, told him plainly that Spain is part of the EU — and that any trade deal with the bloc includes Spain.
The trade stakes are significant. The US exported around $26 billion worth of goods to Spain in 2025, and imported roughly $21 billion in return, according to the US Census Bureau. Spain’s top exports to the US include pharmaceuticals and olive oil.
Britain also came in for criticism, with Trump calling the UK “very uncooperative” over access to military bases. However, unlike with Spain, he stopped short of threatening trade action against London.
