The European Commission has pledged to defend Spain against any punitive U.S. tariffs threatened by Donald Trump in response to Madrid’s refusal to meet the new NATO target of 5 percent of GDP for defence spending.
The Commission stated trade policy lies within its exclusive competence, so unilateral tariffs targeting Spain or other member states would breach EU trade rules.
Trump said “I’m very unhappy with Spain … the only country that didn’t raise their number up to 5 %” and warned of trade punishment through tariffs.
Spain, which has secured an exemption from the 5 percent benchmark and aims instead for around 2.1 percent of GDP in defence spending, says it remains committed to its NATO obligations and that higher targets must reflect real threats not arbitrary numbers.
Brussels emphasised the recent U.S.–EU trade deal provides a framework for addressing such disputes and promised to respond “appropriately” if action is taken against one or more member states.
Spanish officials described the U.S. threats as speculative and reiterated that the EU manages trade for all its members, making selective targeting of Spain unlikely from a legal perspective.
