US President Donald Trump said on 3 March that Washington intends to completely cut trade relations with Spain after Madrid refused to allow its bases to be used for strikes against Iran and did not agree to increase military spending to 5 percent of GDP.
“They have great people, but they don’t have great leadership. And as you know, they were the only NATO country that didn’t agree to raise (military spending) to 5 per cent. They wanted to leave everything at 2 per cent and they’re not paying that 2 per cent, so we’re going to stop all trade with Spain,” Trump said in a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
Trump also added that the US could use Spanish bases without Madrid’s consent if it wanted to.
Merz, for his part, said Berlin and Washington “share the same point of view on overthrowing this terrible regime in Iran.”
“We are trying to convince Spain to respect the 5% defence spending target. We need to look at strategy after the fall of the Iranian regime. This is very important for Europe and Israel,” the Chancellor emphasised.
Spain and the US share bases in Moron and Rota in the south of the country, but Madrid has previously said they would not be used for strikes against Iran. U.S. air strikes have since been tipped for Germany.
Spanish authorities responded to Trump’s statements by calling on Washington to respect international law and trade agreements with the EU and emphasised that they were prepared for possible economic consequences. Madrid says it has the necessary resources to mitigate the possible consequences of a US trade embargo.