Trump Threatens Tariffs Against Spain Over NATO Defense Spending Shortfall

U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 14 threatened tariffs against Spain over Madrid’s refusal to boost defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in line with other NATO allies.

“I’m very unhappy with Spain,” Trump told reporters during a bilateral meeting over lunch with Argentinian President Javier Milei. “They’re the only country that didn’t raise up their number to 5 percent. Every other country in NATO raised up to 5 percent.

“In fact, I was thinking about giving them trade punishment through tariffs because of what they did. And I may do that. I think it’s unbelievably disrespectful. … I think they should be punished for that, yes, I do.”

Trump made the remarks in response to a question related to his suggestion last week that Spain could be thrown out of NATO after Madrid declined to commit to boosting defense spending.

When asked about Trump’s comments, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Oct. 15 that Spain is a reliable member of the alliance and currently has 3,000 soldiers deployed under NATO.

“There is no doubt about Spain’s commitment and contribution to [transatlantic] security,” Albares told reporters during a visit to Hangzhou, China.

Trump said on Oct. 9 that Spain was the only country that had not agreed to increase spending, and suggested that other alliance members raise the issue with Madrid.

During an Oval Office meeting, the president said: “We had one laggard. It was Spain, Spain. You have to call them and find out why are they a laggard, and they’re doing well, too. They have no excuse not to do this, but that’s all right. Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly.”

In response, Spain’s defense minister, Margarita Robles, reaffirmed her country’s commitment to the alliance.

Trump has previously threatened to punish Madrid through trade over the issue of defense spending. During a NATO summit on June 25, he accused Spain of wanting a “free ride.”

Alliance Boosts Spending Pledge

Trump, on June 25, joined the leaders of the 31 other NATO member countries at a summit in The Hague, Netherlands, where the alliance endorsed a new defense spending target of 5 percent of GDP, more than double the 2 percent benchmark set during a summit in Wales in 2014.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said days earlier that his country had made a deal with NATO to exclude itself from the increased target.

“We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do it,” Sánchez said.

He noted that Spain could meet all of its commitments to NATO, in terms of staff or equipment, by spending 2.1 percent of its GDP.

In 2024, Spain spent 1.43 percent, according to NATO estimates on military expenditure, making it the alliance’s lowest spender.

At a pre-summit news conference on June 23, a journalist asked NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte how, given the exemption for Spain, he was going to make sure that the 5 percent pledge did not become an empty promise.

“Alluding to Spain, NATO has no opt-out, and NATO doesn’t do side deals,” Rutte said.

He said countries within the alliance “have the sovereign right, and also the flexibility, to determine their paths for delivering on the NATO commitments.”

Trump Pushes for Spending Increase

Trump has been pushing for increased defense spending to address an imbalance between what the United States contributes and what its allies contribute.

A document titled “Funding NATO” on the alliance’s website points to this imbalance, stating: “The combined wealth of the non-US Allies, measured in GDP, is almost equal to that of the United States. However, non-US Allies together spend less than half of what the United States spends on defence.

“This imbalance has been a constant, with variations, throughout the history of the Alliance and has grown more pronounced since the tragic events of 11 September 2001, after which the United States significantly increased its defence spending.”

During his first term, Trump frequently brought up this disparity, and the subject reemerged during the 2024 presidential election.

In October 2024, then-vice presidential candidate JD Vance, now the vice president, said: “Donald Trump wants NATO to be strong. He wants us to remain in NATO. But he also wants NATO countries to actually carry their share of the defense burden.”

Owen Evans, Chris Summers, and Reuters contributed to this report.