U.S. President Donald Trump orders an immediate halt to all U.S. trade with NATO ally Spain, escalating tensions between Washington and Madrid over defence spending and issues related to the Iran war. The move follows a broader dispute in which Trump links cooperation with European partners to meeting NATO-related spending expectations. Reuters reports the order applies to all trade with Spain and is implemented despite European Union rules that require trade negotiations to be handled as a single EU bloc rather than through separate deals with individual member states.
The decision also intensifies concerns about coordination between the United States and European partners on Iran. While Spain is part of NATO, the U.S. action reflects friction over how allies contribute to collective defence and over shared policy approaches toward Iran. EU officials and other European governments are expected to address the implications of the U.S. order under EU trade procedures, including whether and how negotiations could proceed given the requirement for bloc-wide handling.
