NewzVille International
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a full U.S. trade embargo on Spain after the European and NATO ally refused to allow U.S. military use of its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.
“Spain has been terrible,” President Trump told reporters during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, adding that he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with Spain. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said.
The U.S. relocated 15 aircraft, including refueling tankers, from the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain after the country’s Socialist leadership declined permission for them to be used in attacks on Iran.
Trump also referenced Spain’s refusal to meet NATO spending targets, stating, “Spain has absolutely nothing that we need.”
“All business having to do with Spain, I have the right to stop it. Embargoes – do anything I want with it – and we may do that with Spain”, he added.
Merz, speaking after the meeting, said he told Trump that Spain could not be excluded from a trade agreement reached between Brussels and Washington last year. “Spain is a member of the European Union and we negotiate about tariffs with the United States only together or not at all,” he said. “There is no way to treat Spain particularly badly”, he added.
Trump asked Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for their views on cutting off Spanish trade. Greer responded, “We know you can use it, and if you need to use it to assure national and economic security, we’ll do it.”
Bessent said the Supreme Court affirmed Trump’s embargo powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and that the USTR and Commerce Department would investigate ways to penalize Spain under other trade laws.
Reactions from trade law experts sugget that such an embargo would face high legal hurdles.
Jennifer Hillman, a Georgetown University professor, noted that Trump would need to declare a national emergency over Spain as an “unusual and extraordinary” threat, a threshold she described as unprecedented.
Peter Shane, a New York University adjunct law professor, added that denying U.S. use of bases for an unprovoked attack on Iran does not qualify as an extraordinary threat.
The Spanish government responded that the U.S. must respect the autonomy of private businesses, international law, and bilateral trade agreements with the EU.
Madrid said it has the resources to contain potential impacts of a trade embargo and would continue promoting free trade and economic cooperation.
Spain, the world’s top exporter of olive oil and a key supplier of auto parts, steel, and chemicals to the U.S., is less vulnerable to Trump’s threats than other European nations.
In 2025, the U.S. had a trade surplus with Spain of $4.8 billion, with exports totaling $26.1 billion and imports $21.3 billion. U.S. exports of crude oil and LNG to Spain have grown in recent years.
Merz added that European pressure is being applied to Spain on defence spending, urging it to reach 3–3.5% of GDP agreed under NATO, while emphasizing that defence levels are unrelated to trade negotiations.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has previously angered Trump by refusing to allow vessels transporting weapons to Israel to dock in Spain and for other policy stances, marking him as a prominent left-leaning voice in Europe.
