US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all US trade with Spain, calling Madrid ‘a terrible ally’ in NATO and declaring he wanted ‘no business’ with the country.
Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the start of the alliance’s summit in Ankara (Turkey), Trump intensified his criticism of Spain over its defence spending, its refusal to back NATO’s new target of spending 5% of GDP on defence, and its opposition to allowing the United States to use Spanish airspace and military bases during the recent war with Iran.
‘Spain is a lost cause. I don’t ever want to do any more business with Spain. I’d like to cut it off. Spain is a terrible ally in NATO,’ Trump said. ALSO READ: Trump brands Spain ‘terrible’ and ‘a horror show’ as he again criticises NATO allies.
The US president did not issue a formal written order and his administration made no official announcement. Instead, as is often his practice, he made the remarks during an extended exchange with reporters before the summit meeting. ALSO READ: US ambassador warns Spain over China while defending Trump’s criticism of Sánchez.
Trump repeated his wider criticism of NATO, complaining about allied defence spending, the alliance’s stance on Iran and the issue of Greenland.
‘I’m not happy with NATO because of what they’ve done on Greenland, and because they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terrorism, which is Iran,’ he said.
‘We didn’t need the help, but I was testing them. I wanted to know whether they’d be there, and the answer is no’
Trump said he had spoken with Germany, France, Britain and Italy but not Spain.
‘I spoke to Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy … I didn’t speak to Spain. Spain is a lost cause. I don’t ever want to do any more business with Spain. I’d like to cut it off. Spain is a terrible ally in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay, I don’t want anything to do with Spain.’ ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez responds to Donald Trump: ‘No to war’.
Turning directly to Bessent, who was seated nearby, Trump instructed him: ‘Cut off all trade with Spain, including visits. We don’t want anything to do with them.’
According to media reports, Bessent replied: ‘Yes, sir.’
Trump continued: ‘You’ll see them come running back, they’ll come running back. They’ve treated this man,’ he said, referring to Rutte, ‘terribly, and he’s a great man. But Spain doesn’t agree with anything, and you shouldn’t put up with it. You should back him automatically because you’re protecting their region.’
‘They probably think they have to protect us, but that’s not the case. We don’t have to trade with them. I don’t want to trade with them anymore.’
Addressing Bessent again, Trump added: ‘Take it immediately. Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless. They’re bad people because they’ve got everyone else paying and doing the work … And Spain in particular — there are a few others, but Spain in particular — they say it openly. They’re hostile.’
‘They make so much money with us, and we’re going to see that they make a lot less. I want no business with them.’
Trump insisted Spain would eventually reverse its position and ask to restore commercial ties. ALSO READ: Trump vows to ‘cut off all trade’ with Spain over Iran stance: ‘We don’t want anything to do with Spain’.
The United States maintains two key military installations in Spain: Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base. ALSO READ: Spain blocks its airspace to US military flights linked to the war in Iran.
Back in April, an internal Pentagon email reportedly outlined options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believed had failed to support US operations during the war with Iran, including the possibility of suspending Spain from the alliance. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez dismisses report of Pentagon memo suggesting Spain’s NATO suspension.
Trump also renewed his campaign for US control of Greenland, repeating comments he made on his arrival in Ankara on Tuesday. ALSO READ: Spain joins European allies in rejecting Trump’s call for US control of Greenland.
‘Greenland is a big problem for us, and the other problem is that when we needed them — not that we really needed them very much — but when we asked whether they wanted to help, they weren’t there for us,’ he said.
‘Greenland is very important to the United States but not to Denmark,’ Trump added, again claiming that the US had taken the Arctic island after the Second World War before returning it to Denmark. ‘We shouldn’t have done that.’ ALSO READ: As EU rejects Trump’s tariffs, Sánchez says US move on Greenland would make Putin ‘happiest man on Earth’.
The US president also repeated his longstanding complaint that Washington shoulders an unfair share of NATO’s costs.
‘We’ve spent more than a trillion dollars, over a relatively short period of time, protecting these countries from Russia. We’ve paid disproportionately,’ he said, adding that he remained ‘very unhappy with NATO’.
Standing alongside him, Rutte did not challenge Trump’s remarks, intervening only to argue that European allies and Canada had significantly increased defence spending, which he credited to Trump’s pressure.
‘You made this happen (…) Many presidents tried to do it, but this is your victory,’ Rutte said.
Referring specifically to Spain, he added: ‘Even you got Spain to spend 2%. They made a huge step last year. There are still some issues we have to resolve, but even Spain reached 2%.’ ALSO READ: Europe must take defence into its own hands amid US NATO threats, says Spain’s foreign minister.
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Trump apunta a una ruptura comercial y diplomática con España: “Es un terrible socio en la OTAN. No participan, no pagan. No quiero hacer nada con España” https://t.co/oDjyczL6BV https://t.co/DJIwKcmp53 pic.twitter.com/4Pt4UO9D2A
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) July 8, 2026
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, dice que España es «una causa perdida» y pide cortar «todo el comercio» con el país, «incluidas las visitas». https://t.co/petJsZj3nH
— EFE Noticias (@EFEnoticias) July 8, 2026
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