Trump Reverses Course on Spain, Calling It "Very Generous" Hours After Trade Threat

US President Donald Trump shifted his tone on Spain twice within a single day: on the morning of July 8, at the NATO summit in Ankara, he again demanded a halt to all trade with the country, and that evening, aboard his plane en route to Washington, he unexpectedly called Spain "very generous."

At the press conference, Trump said that Spain is a "lost cause" and instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to prepare a halt to trade relations with the country.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that, despite the public jabs, his private conversation with Trump the day before had gone "amicably," and they had discussed the World Cup and golf.

Trump himself unexpectedly shifted his rhetoric aboard the plane after the summit. Answering journalists' questions, he praised Spain's conduct at the NATO summit: "I'll say I had problems with Spain, and I still do, but today Spain completely changed course. Today Spain was very generous… They responded to the request to contribute a very significant amount, and if they hadn't, we wouldn't even be talking to them," he said.

Shortly before Trump's remarks, US officials for the first time clearly outlined a possible path to trade sanctions. A source at the US Treasury said the department would work with the Trade Representative's office and the Commerce Department to prepare, for the president, a list of Spanish goods that could be subject to an embargo in the coming days.

Trade-law experts interviewed by Politico, including former US State Department chief economist Chad Bown, believe that imposing tariffs on Spanish goods would not be technically difficult, but it would jeopardise the trade agreement that Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed last year in Scotland.

For a full embargo, Trump would need to declare a state of emergency and justify that Spain — a NATO ally with which the US runs a trade surplus — poses an "unusual or extraordinary threat" to US national security, which is unlikely.

Trade between the two countries exceeded 47.9 billion dollars in 2025, according to data from the US Census Bureau. Including services such as tourism, the figure reaches 74.5 billion dollars, making Spain the US's 23rd-most significant trading partner.

At the same time, the US sells more goods to Spain than it buys from Spain: US exports to Spain in 2025 totalled 26.6 billion dollars, while imports totalled 21.35 billion dollars. Spain mainly exports pharmaceuticals, electrical transformers, personal care products, petroleum products, ceramics, and olive oil to the US. The main US exports to Spain are pharmaceuticals, crude oil, civilian aircraft, and corn.