Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Spain if it fails to comply with the 5% of GDP defense spending agreed upon within the NATO framework has run into Brussels. The European Commission reiterated on Wednesday that trade is its exclusive responsibility and that an attack of this type against a member country is something to which the EU should respond as a bloc. And it will do so if necessary."We will respond appropriately, as we always do, to any measures taken against one or more of our member states," said an EU spokesperson in response to a question about the US president's renewed threats against Spain.

However, NATO, the US-led military organization, has avoided criticizing the American, who has even suggested that the Alliance should expel Spain for not reaching the 5% of its GDP spent on defense. Expulsion is not included in the organization's treaties, which dictate that it can only be left voluntarily.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the US president and defended his push for increased military spending. “President Trump was instrumental in the success of the NATO Summit [at which the new defense spending target was agreed]. I've said it before: without him, we would never have reached this result of 5% of GDP, including the 3.5% of qualified spending,” Rutte said at a press conference on Wednesday following a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

“If anyone thought that without Trump as president of the United States, we would have achieved [that goal], it would be an exaggeration. We achieved it thanks to him, and for two reasons: because we have to achieve the scalability objectives, and we need them so that, if Article Five [of collective defense] is activated, we can do whatever is necessary to combat the adversary that attacks us, whether it's Russia, terrorism, or anyone else; but also because we're now on par with the United States. So he's pushing hard for that to happen. So am I,” he remarked.

Trump has escalated and intensified his threats against Spain in recent weeks for failing to meet the 5% defense investment target that NATO allies agreed to (in response to US demands) at the summit in The Hague last June. A commitment for which Spain secured a safeguard by assuring, in an exchange of letters with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, that it could cover its commitments to the Alliance by spending 2.1% of GDP."At The Hague, we had unanimity among the 32 allies. Spain fully agreed on the capacity targets," Rutte stated this Wednesday, avoiding elaborating on Spain's reduced commitment.

Pedro Sánchez has been very clear. Spain will not reach that 5% of its GDP in military investments, as he reiterated on Tuesday during an interview on Cadena SER."Defense spending is immutable," he said."With 2.1%, we meet the capabilities that the Atlantic Alliance is asking of us to be able to face challenges like Putin's war in Ukraine," he asserted. Defense Minister Margarita Robles was a little more lax this Wednesday in Brussels:"What happens in 2030 or 2035, no one can know, we'll see," she remarked after the defense ministers' meeting. Spain and the other allies will have a reassessment of their compliance with NATO capabilities in 2029.

What is clear is that the White House chief is not satisfied with Spain's position. Now, Washington is doubling down on its threat, once again waving the trade card. But while NATO maintains a low profile and tries to avoid criticism of Trump's threats, a member of the organization, the European Commission is clear. The European Commission has recalled that the EU has reached a bilateral trade agreement with the United States to curb the tariff escalation that Trump threatened the entire bloc with."This is the platform to address any trade or trade-related issue," the spokesperson stressed, declining to comment on the specific Spanish case, since, at least for now, it is a"hypothetical" matter.

During the Hague summit at the end of June, Trump had already threatened to impose tariffs on Spain for defying his demand that all allies increase defense spending to 5% (3.5% on defense and 1.5% on related spending). Until a few days ago, the Republican had not mentioned this possibility again, nor did he mention it this Monday during his meeting with Sánchez at the summit held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh.