President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a complete trade embargo on Spain after the NATO ally refused to allow U.S. military bases on its territory to be used for strikes on Iran. Speaking during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said: “Spain has been terrible. We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
The U.S. has relocated 15 aircraft, including refuelling tankers, from the Rota and Moron bases in southern Spain after the Spanish government said it would not permit their use for attacks on Iran. Trump also criticised Spain for failing to meet NATO’s defence spending target of five percent of GDP, adding: “Spain has absolutely nothing that we need.”
Trump said he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with Spain. Bessent later stated that the Supreme Court had affirmed the president’s embargo powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and that investigations into penalising Spain under other trade laws would begin.
However, legal experts questioned the basis for such an embargo. Jennifer Hillman, a trade law professor at Georgetown University, noted that Trump would need to declare a national emergency over Spain as an “unusual and extraordinary” threat, a move she described as going “well beyond” any previous emergency. Peter Shane, a New York University adjunct law professor, added: “It’s hard to see how Spain denying us the use of air bases for an unprovoked attack on Iran poses such a threat.”
Spain’s government responded by stating that the U.S. must respect the autonomy of private businesses, international law, and EU-US trade agreements. Madrid said it had resources to mitigate the impact of an embargo and would continue to promote free trade. The U.S. had a trade surplus with Spain of $4.8 billion in 2025, with exports of $26.1 billion and imports of $21.3 billion.
Chancellor Merz said he had told Trump that Spain could not be excluded from the EU-US trade agreement, adding: “We negotiate about tariffs with the United States only together or not at all.” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has also angered Trump by refusing to let vessels transporting weapons to Israel dock in Spanish ports.
