Spanish PM Hits Back at Trump's Tariff Threats
(MENAFN) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday responded sharply to US President Donald Trump's threats to impose higher tariffs on Spain for its refusal to allocate 5% of its GDP to defense spending.
When asked about Trump's comments from the previous day, Sanchez told reporters in Brussels, “Europe and the world are already suffering from a trade war being waged by the US, with tariff measures that we believe are unfair and unilateral.”
He further emphasized, “In the case of Spain, it’s double the lie because we have a trade deficit – not surplus – with the United States.”
Trump’s remarks on Wednesday included a statement that he would negotiate “directly” with Sanchez on trade, adding: “We’re going to make them pay twice as much,” in terms of tariffs.
However, Sanchez clarified that the European Union is negotiating trade relations with the US on behalf of all member nations, with no individual countries entering separate agreements.
The US has already imposed a 10% tariff on all EU imports, along with a 50% tax on aluminum and steel, and a 25% tariff on vehicles.
The dispute between Spain and the US comes in the wake of Madrid's successful push within NATO to secure more flexibility on the alliance's new 5% defense spending target.
“Spain is committed to members of the alliance, but is also sovereign. This is the balance that the 32 member states – including the United States – agreed upon in the declaration,” Sanchez said, referencing the Hague Summit Declaration signed Wednesday.
That declaration binds allies to invest 5% of their GDP toward core defense and security needs by 2035. However, Spain claims it won some leeway with exemptions.
“Spain’s Ministry of Defense says that the capacities agreed upon … represent 2.1% of our GDP, and that’s what we are going to do,” Sanchez remarked. He added that adhering to the 5% target would require drastic tax hikes and cuts to Spain's welfare programs.
Trump, speaking after the NATO summit, stated, “Spain is the only country out of all of the countries that refuses to pay. They want a little bit of a free ride, but they’ll have to pay it back to us in trade, because I’m not going to let that happen.”
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