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First modification: 03/04/2026 - 04:47
Donald Trump threatened to cut off trade with Spain due to Pedro Sánchez's refusal to allow the use of military bases in the south of the country for the conflict with Iran. Although the trade tension with Madrid has its genesis in disagreements over contributions to NATO, the European nation has proven to be a good buyer of American products.
Threat or not, the Ibex 35 - the main stock index in the Spanish stock market - closed with a drop of close to 5% this Tuesday, March 3. Spain, a nation that is part of the European Union, has the second most important market for its exports in the United States, behind the United Kingdom.
"Spain has absolutely nothing that we need other than excellent people. They have excellent people, but they don't have great leadership. As you know, they were the only NATO country that didn't agree to go up 5%. I don't think they would have accepted anything, they wanted to keep it at 2%, and they don't pay. So we're going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don't want to have anything to do with Spain," Trump said during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
But what Trump is ignoring is that Spain is one of the few countries that has a negative trade balance with the American Union. In other words, according to data from the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute, the European nation imported US goods worth 30,174 million euros while exporting a total of 16,716 million euros to the main economy. The difference, 13,458 million euros, favors Washington.
What can Trump do to get revenge on Spain?
During his second term, tariffs have been Trump's weapon to negotiate and threaten both partners and enemies. But after the Supreme Court ruling weeks ago, where it rejected the use of tariffs and established that the head of state exceeded his powers by imposing them, the head of the White House has been more direct in his actions and intimidation.
Spain cannot be assigned tariffs directly because the nation, as a member of the European Union, is covered by the trade agreement that both the American Union and the bloc of 27 established last summer, although it is currently waiting for legislative validation.
Experts in Spain point out that a mechanism that Trump could use would be to control exports from American companies, something similar to what happens with China where industries that send some inputs to the Asian giant require a special license.
In the midst of this tension, which in addition to shaking the markets puts stress on Spanish businessmen who invest in the United States, the agri-food sector is one of the most vulnerable in this fight, where olive oil could be the big loser after signing a bill of 732.7 million euros in 2025.
With AP, Reuters and Spanish media
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