Donald Trump’s recent statements after the NATO summit in The Hague have caused a stir. The US President overtly threatened Spain with drastic tariffs if the government under Pedro Sánchez is not willing to increase its defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. This demand comes after the other NATO allies agreed to an increase in military spending.
A Historic Milestone and Spain’s Rejection
Trump highlighted the agreement of the other NATO states as a “historic milestone,” in which countries committed to increasing their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 in two phases – 3.5 percent for military expenditures and an additional 1.5 percent for other capabilities. Visibly satisfied, he declared: “They told me: ‘You did it.’ Well, I don’t know, but the truth is, I did.”
However, amidst this apparent unity, Trump admitted that there were countries unwilling to join this commitment. He prominently named Spain as one of them. “I don’t understand why,” the US President expressed his bewilderment at Madrid’s stance.
Trump’s Clear Threat: “They Will Pay Double!”
Trump’s reaction to Spain’s refusal was unequivocal. He directly attacked the Spanish government: “It is the only country that says it will not pay, it is terrible and unfair. Their economy is doing well, but they don’t want to pay.”
The threat against the Sánchez government followed immediately and was remarkably harsh. “What they don’t want to pay, they will pay double in trade,” Trump clarified, referring to the imposition of tariffs.
It remains to be seen what impact such retaliatory measures would have on an individual EU country, as the European Union represents a unified trade bloc. Nevertheless, Trump did not seem deterred by this. “We will make them pay, we will not negotiate,” he insisted on his position.
No Negotiation, Direct Confrontation
Trump showed himself determined not to compromise. “It’s terrible what they’ve done. I don’t know what the problem is. We’re going to make up for that. We are negotiating a trade agreement with Spain. We’re going to make them pay double. If they want to go it alone, they’ll have to give it back to us in the store, because I won’t allow it,” he explained, without even giving journalists the opportunity to ask questions.
He announced that he would “negotiate directly” with Spain, but strongly emphasized that “they will pay more money this way.” This, he said, was the clear penalty for not joining the general NATO agreement. The coming weeks and months will show how the Spanish government will react to this unprecedented threat.
