Trump threatens Spain with tariffs over “disrespectful” defense spending

US President Donald Trump has criticized Spain for being the only NATO member to refuse to increase its defense spending to five percent of GDP. He described this as disrespectful to the alliance and threatened to impose tariffs.

At the same time, he hinted that NATO might consider excluding Spain from its ranks.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was able to negotiate a last-minute exemption—the country plans to spend only 2.1 percent, which it considers realistic.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares defended Spain's approach by pointing to its strong participation in military missions. According to him, around 3,000 Spanish soldiers are currently deployed across Europe.

However, NATO emphasizes that, given Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the originally agreed two percent of GDP is no longer sufficient.

(reuters, lup)