--- title: Trump Orders U.S. to Cut All Trade With Spain as Feud Escalates at NATO Summit description: “We don't have to trade with them. I don't want to do any more trade with them," the President said. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/07/08/trump-united-states-spain-trade-cuts-nato-feud/ author: Tiago Ventura article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-07-08T15:24:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-07-08T17:56:59.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Orders U.S. to Cut All Trade With Spain as Feud Escalates at NATO Summit og:description: “We don't have to trade with them. I don't want to do any more trade with them," the President said. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/07/08/trump-united-states-spain-trade-cuts-nato-feud/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc53784214a7861e5/6a4e30ded2f3f95c74974ae0/Trump_Nato.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump_Nato.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Orders U.S. to Cut All Trade With Spain as Feud Escalates at NATO Summit twitter:description: “We don't have to trade with them. I don't want to do any more trade with them," the President said. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc53784214a7861e5/6a4e30ded2f3f95c74974ae0/Trump_Nato.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Orders U.S. to Cut All Trade With Spain as Feud Escalates at NATO Summit > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tiago Ventura](https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Updated: Jul 8, 2026 5:56 PM UTCPublished: Jul 8, 2026 3:24 PM UTC  President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. Filip Singer––Getty Images  by [Tiago Ventura](https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Updated: Jul 8, 2026 5:56 PM UTCPublished: Jul 8, 2026 3:24 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the U.S. to cut all trade with Spain, [escalating his feud](https://time.com/7382467/spain-rebukes-trump-trade-threat-over-iran-war/) with a key NATO member during the alliance’s summit in Ankara, Turkey. Trump described Spain as “a wasted cause” and said he no longer wants the U.S. doing business with the country. “Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits,” he [told](https://youtu.be/%5FBrzW24jW8E?t=276) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in front of reporters. “Watch them come running back.” Referring to Spain as a “terrible partner in NATO,” Trump alleged “they don't participate, they don't pay.” He appeared to be referencing Spain's [refusal](https://x.com/sanchezcastejon/status/1936860509829271639) to commit to investing 5% of GDP annually on defense by 2035, after other member states agreed to the target at last year's summit. “We don't have to trade with them. I don't want to do any more trade with them. All right, take it immediately,” Trump added. “Don't even talk to them, they're hopeless, bad people.” Spanish Health Minister Mónica García issued a strong rebuke of Trump’s pointed criticism. “Trump calls Spain a 'terrible partner’ because it accepts neither blackmail nor threats. Because we are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace,” she [said](https://x.com/Monica%5FGarcia%5FG/status/2074785199108292724). “Terrible is to confuse diplomacy with thuggery.” A source from the Spanish government told TIME "our country maintains a magnificent social, cultural, and economic relationship with the U.S.A and it is not our intention that this will change." Relations between Washington and Madrid have become strained amid the fallout of the Iran war. Spanish Prime Minister[ Pedro Sánchez](https://time.com/7382467/spain-rebukes-trump-trade-threat-over-iran-war/) emerged as one of Europe's most vocal critics, accusing the U.S. of dragging the world into a war that has brought only [“insecurity and pain.](https://x.com/sanchezcastejon/status/2029147260324389279)” Spain notably denied U.S. forces access to joint military bases for offensive operations against Iran and closed its airspace to American aircraft involved in the conflict. Trump has repeatedly singled out Spain over those decisions and first floated the idea of cutting trade with the country in March—an economic threat that was [widely rebuked by European leaders.](https://time.com/7382467/spain-rebukes-trump-trade-threat-over-iran-war/) He did not follow through on the threat, but tensions remained high. A month later,[ an internal Pentagon email ](https://time.com/article/2026/04/24/united-states-spain-nato-suspension-efforts-pentagon-email/)reportedly suggested various ways the Administration could punish NATO allies it believes let the U.S. down by not actively supporting operations in the Iran war, according to Reuters. The U.S. was said to be floating the idea of suspending Spain from the NATO alliance. "We do not work with emails," Sánchez told reporters when asked about the matter at the European Union summit that same week. "We work with official documents and positions taken, in this case, by the government of the United States." Trump later threatened to [withdraw American troops from both Spain and Italy](https://time.com/article/2026/05/01/trump-threatens-to-withdraw-us-troops-italy-spain-europe-iran-war/), arguing both countries had failed the U.S. by refusing to get actively involved in the Iran war. David Blagden, an associate professor of international security and strategy at the University of Exeter, tells TIME that “attempts to use sanctions as coercion” forms part of Trump’s “broader pattern of dealing with allies.” Since his first term, Trump has accused European allies of not investing enough in their own militaries and relying too heavily on U.S. contributions. Disagreements over the conflict, and [Trump’s threats to annex Greenland,](https://time.com/article/2026/07/07/trump-greenland-should-be-controlled-by-united-states-alliance-nato-summit/) have further [splintered relations between the U.S. and NATO allies](https://time.com/article/2026/07/03/trump-nato-defense-spending-row-alliance-summit/) in recent months. In response to Trump's latest trade threat, European Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill [said](https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-292060) “we expect the U.S. to honor its commitments... as we have honored ours." The European Union's side of a trade deal struck with ​the U.S. last year [came into effect ](https://commission.europa.eu/topics/trade/eu-us-trade-deal%5Fen)on July 1. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/08/trump-united-states-spain-trade-cuts-nato-feud/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/08/trump-united-states-spain-trade-cuts-nato-feud/"},"headline":"Trump Orders U.S. to Cut All Trade With Spain as Feud Escalates at NATO Summit","datePublished":"2026-07-08T15:24:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-08T17:56:59.000Z","description":"“We don't have to trade with them. 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