""In fact, I was thinking about giving them trade punishment through tariffs because of what they did, and I may do that," Trump told reporters at the White House. Trump suggested last week that Spain be expelled from Nato over its failure to match the higher defence spending requirement. "We had one laggard, it was Spain," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "They have no excuse not to do this, but that's all right. Maybe you should throw them out of Nato frankly.""
"In June, the military alliance of 32 member states agreed to boost defence spending to five percent of annual economic output over the next decade under pressure from Trump. But Spain, which was Nato's lowest defence spender in relative terms last year, insisted it would not need to hit the headline figure. READ MORE: Is Spain's Nato defence spend really as low as Trump claims? Sanchez has argued that Spain should meet its capacity objectives rather than fixed spending targets."
President Donald Trump threatened Spain with tariffs and suggested possible expulsion from NATO for failing to meet a five percent of GDP defence spending goal. He called Spain disrespectful to NATO and said he might impose trade punishment through tariffs. Spain was identified as NATO's lowest relative defence spender last year and argued it would prioritise capacity objectives over a fixed spending headline. NATO agreed to raise defence spending to five percent of GDP over the next decade under pressure from Trump. When Trump met Pedro Sanchez he gave an aggressive handshake then praised Sanchez as doing "a fantastic job," creating mixed signals. Spanish government sources said Spain is a committed NATO member and meets capacity targets comparable to the United States.
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