Trump claims NATO partner Spain agreed to additional defense spending
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump claimed that Spain has agreed to make additional financial commitments after he threatened to cut off trade. Trump had called for a complete trade cutoff with Spain, calling it a "terrible partner" in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over Madrid's stance on defense spending and the Iran conflict. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said his hardline stance forced Spain to comply with US demands.
Trump
'Spain was very generous today'
Hours after he criticized the country and ordered a halt to trade, Trump on Wednesday said Spain was "very generous" earlier in the day at the NATO summit. "I did have issues, and I still do. But Spain, they came back all the way today. Spain was very generous today," Trump told reporters as he returned from the NATO summit.
Trade threat
Trump orders Treasury Secretary to halt trade with Spain
Trump had earlier criticized Spain for not committing to NATO's new defense spending target of 5% of GDP. He called Spain a "terrible partner" and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop all trade with the country. This was the second time he had publicly ordered a suspension of trade over defense spending, although a similar directive in March did not disrupt bilateral trade.
Diplomatic efforts
Spanish PM describes interaction with Trump as 'very cordial'
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez downplayed the threat, describing his interaction with Trump as "very cordial." He said they discussed topics such as the FIFA World Cup and golf, but not military spending. Sanchez also reaffirmed Spain's commitment to NATO by announcing a new deployment of Spanish troops to Finland for the Arctic Sentry mission. Spain is the only NATO member that has not committed to spending 5% of its GDP on defense by 2035.