Trump Moves to Override NATO's Spain Exemption With Trade Threats

On July 8, Trump instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all trade and tourism with Spain, citing Madrid's defense spending. Spain had secured a formal NATO exemption from the alliance's 5% GDP defense target at June's summit—a compromise NATO leadership accepted to preserve unity. Trump's threat effectively bypasses that negotiated agreement, weaponizing bilateral trade leverage against a NATO member to enforce what the alliance itself chose to defer.