Spain only NATO member not committed to 5% defense target as Trump calls for trade cutoff

NATO Secretary-General Rutte credits Trump for Spain’s higher defense spending

President Donald Trump said Wednesday at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, that he wants to cut off all trade with Spain, calling it a “wasted cause” because Spain did not commit to his target of spending at least 5% of its GDP on defense by 2035.

“Spain is a wasted cause,” Trump said, according to a wire report. “We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore by the way. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits.”

Trump was seated with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte when he made the comments at the summit.

Spain is the only member of NATO that did not commit to spending at least 5% of its GDP on defense by 2035 last year, the target Trump has pushed for across the alliance.

Rutte commended Spain for increasing its defense spending last year, crediting Trump for encouraging the move.

“You got Spain to pay 2%,” Rutte said, according to the wire report. “They spent. They made a huge step in last year.”

According to the source, Spain spent 2.1% of its GDP on defense in 2025, an increase from 1.4% in 2021.

Trump has also been critical of NATO as a whole over other member nations not contributing at the level of the United States historically.