US President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to “cut off all trade with Spain” after Madrid refused to allow American forces to use jointly operated military bases on Spanish territory for missions linked to US and Israeli strikes on Iran, escalating a dispute that has also been fuelled by arguments over NATO defence spending targets.
Trump made the remarks during an Oval Office appearance alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, telling reporters that Spain “has been terrible” and saying he had instructed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with the country. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain,” Trump said, adding: “We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
In the same exchange, Trump also suggested the United States could operate from Spanish bases regardless of Madrid’s position, saying: “We could use their base if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody’s going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t have to.”
The threat came after Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Spain would not permit the bases to be used for military actions that are not covered by existing agreements and international law, and stressed that the facilities had not been used for the weekend strikes on Iran. Albares said Spain’s position was that the bases “are not being used – nor will they be used – for anything that is not in the agreement [with the US], nor for anything that isn’t covered by the UN charter.”
Spain’s defence minister, Margarita Robles, also said Spain’s bases had not been used for military action and described Madrid’s view that any operations must comply with international legal frameworks and have international support, according to comments cited in the UNILAD report.
Reuters reported that, following Spain’s refusal, the United States relocated 15 aircraft, including refuelling tankers, from the Rota and Morón bases in southern Spain.
Trump tied his criticism of Spain to a separate argument over NATO spending, again complaining that Spain had not agreed with US calls for all alliance members to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defence. In the Oval Office, he said Spain “has absolutely nothing that we need other than great people”, adding that the country had “great people” but “don’t have great leadership.”
Spain’s Socialist-led government, headed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, has criticised the US and Israeli military campaign against Iran and urged de-escalation and dialogue while also condemning Iranian strikes across the region, the Associated Press reported.
A spokesperson for Sánchez’s office responded to Trump’s comments by pointing to the European Union’s role in trade policy and the constraints of existing agreements. “If the U.S. administration wishes to review the trade agreement, it must do so respecting the autonomy of private companies, international law, and bilateral agreements between the European Union and the United States,” the spokesperson said, according to AP.
Trump’s threat immediately raised questions about feasibility because Spain is an EU member state and trade policy is negotiated collectively on behalf of all 27 countries. During his Washington visit, Merz said he told Trump privately that Spain could not be separated from the bloc in any US trade action, Reuters reported. “I said that Spain is a member of the European Union and we negotiate about tariffs with the United States only together or not at all,” Merz said. “There is no way to treat Spain particularly badly.”
In the Oval Office discussion, Trump publicly asked Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for their views on cutting off trade with Spain. Greer responded that the administration would discuss it with the president and suggested trade action could be framed as a national security measure, Reuters reported. Bessent, for his part, said the Supreme Court had reaffirmed Trump’s ability to implement an embargo and said the US Trade Representative and Commerce Department would begin investigations into how to penalise Spain under trade laws, according to Reuters and AP.
The dispute comes amid wider legal and political fights in Washington over the limits of presidential authority in trade policy. AP reported that Trump’s comments followed a Supreme Court decision that struck down what it described as Trump’s “far-reaching global tariffs,” and said the president has argued the ruling leaves him room to impose embargoes instead.
Reuters noted that legal experts said a full embargo on Spain would face a high bar, including the requirement to declare a national emergency tied to an “unusual and extraordinary” threat to the United States under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The economic backdrop also complicates the White House threat. Spain is a major exporter of olive oil and sells products including auto parts, steel and chemicals to the United States, Reuters reported, but it added that Spain may be less vulnerable than some European nations because the United States recorded a trade surplus with Spain for the fourth consecutive year in 2025. Reuters cited US Census Bureau data showing a surplus of $4.8bn in 2025, with US exports to Spain of $26.1bn and imports of $21.3bn, and said American exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas to Spain have grown in recent years.
Spain’s government said it had resources to manage the impact of any US trade move and support affected sectors while continuing to push for free trade and economic cooperation, Reuters reported.
The confrontation also reflects Sánchez’s increasingly tense relationship with Trump’s administration, which has criticised Madrid on defence spending and foreign policy. Reuters said Sánchez has risked Trump’s ire with a series of policy positions, including resisting the 5% NATO target and refusing to allow vessels transporting weapons to Israel to dock in Spain.
For now, the White House threat amounts to an aggressive warning rather than an announced policy, with no immediate executive action unveiled during Trump’s remarks. But the president’s language signalled he was prepared to use trade pressure to punish allies who restrict US military access, even as European leaders insisted that any attempt to single out Spain would collide with the EU’s collective trade powers and existing agreements.