Does Trump Have the Power to 'Cut Off All Trade' with Spain?
Trump’s move follows Spain’s refusal to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, while U.S. officials review legal options for tariffs or a broader embargo.
- On Wednesday, President Trump reiterated his desire to impose a trade embargo on Spain, ordering Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all trade& including visits" with the country amid tensions over defence spending.
- Tensions escalated after Trump threatened punishment in October 2025, claiming Spain refused at a NATO summit in The Hague to commit to raising defence spending to 5% of national output.
- Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the president can only restrict trade if Spain presents an "unusual or extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security, complicating the $26.6 billion trade relationship.
- Peter Shane, a U.S. law professor at NYU, said it was "hard to see" how the dispute over defence spending would qualify as justification for invoking emergency powers.
- European Union rules require that all trade negotiations must be conducted with the bloc as a single entity, potentially complicating any U.S. attempt to single out Spain individually.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, U.S. trade decisions and investigations related to Spain have accumulated to a climate of growing mistrust. To the President’s public threats against Spain for defense spending and his attitude within NATO is added a chain of dossiers on specific products: steel cable for construction, thermal paper for receipts and labels, methionine for animal feed, black olive, common aluminium s…
The Detroit News
USA TodayDoes Trump have the power to 'cut off all trade' with Spain?
Trump reiterated on Wednesday his desire to impose a trade embargo on Spain.
The US President announces a trade embargo against Spain at the Nato Summit, also because the country criticized its war in Iran. The EU and Madrid give themselves relaxed.
The international economy is going through a moment of great uncertainty due to the trade and political tensions between different countries. In this context, the statements and threats of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, have generated concern about their possible consequences on world trade and, in particular, on the economic relations with Spain and the ... Continue reading "The economic current under review: responds to thes…
The European Union expects the US to honour its commitments under the trade agreement, a European Commission spokesman said on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump decided to cut off all trade with Spain, reports Reuters and AFP.
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