US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "cut off all trade with Spain" following Madrid's refusal to allow US use of its military bases for a bombing campaign against Iran.
The instruction came during a White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where the president said he had directed Bessent to end all dealings with Spain. Trump offered no detailed plan for how such a move would be implemented, and acknowledged the potential complexities of taking action given the United States' trading relationship with the broader European Union.
Later in the discussion, Trump suggested he believed he had the authority to impose a full embargo on Spanish goods, while not stating definitively that he intended to do so. "Spain has absolutely nothing that we need other than great people," he said. "They have great people, but they don’t have great leadership."
The remarks reflect an ongoing dispute with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Trump has repeatedly expressed anger at Sanchez for rejecting his push for NATO allies to lift defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product. The president said last October that Spain should face a "trade punishment" over the disagreement.
On the possibility of broader trade restrictions, Trump said: "I could tomorrow stop - or today, even better - stop everything having to do with Spain, all business having to do with Spain, have the right to stop it, embargoes, do anything I want with it. And we may do that with Spain." Treasury Secretary Bessent, present at the meeting, affirmed his belief that the president had the legal ability to embargo Spanish goods but did not indicate whether he would pursue such a course.
Trump also criticized the United Kingdom for refusing to allow use of the island of Diego Garcia to conduct strikes on Iran, saying he was "surprised" by the UK's stance. He stopped short of making a trade threat against the UK, but criticized its cooperation on military access: "This is not the age of Churchill. I will say, the UK has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have," he said.
The president's comments underscore a confrontation that mixes diplomatic, military and trade elements - a combination that raises questions about how far executive authority might extend over international commerce when tied to national security objectives. Treasury officials at the meeting voiced legal confidence in the availability of tools to act, but offered no confirmation that such measures would be pursued.
For now, the public record from the meeting contains the president's directives and assertions, the Treasury secretary's view on legal authority, and no concrete steps announced to implement a broad trade cutoff or embargo.