Media: Trump says Spain agreed to pay more after trade embargo threat

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Spain had agreed to make additional payments after he threatened the NATO ally with a trade embargo during the alliance's summit, though he did not specify what the payments were, according to Bloomberg.

"I will say. I did have issues, and I still do. But Spain came back all the way today," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to the United States from the summit.

"I told him I’m going to stop trading," he continued. "They made, they honored a request for lots of payment, and if they didn’t, we wouldn’t even talk to them."

Trump did not identify whom he had spoken to from Spain or clarify what payments he was referring to.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump criticised Spain over what he described as insufficient support for the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran and for failing to spend enough on defence.

"Spain is a wasted cause," Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He also reiterated his threat to halt trade with the country, saying that "we don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore."

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that U.S. agencies were preparing a list of Spanish products for Trump to consider as part of a potential embargo.

A spokesperson for the Spanish government responded that the country "is responding to these remarks calmly and as a matter of course," while stressing that Spain and the United States maintain an "excellent" relationship and noting that the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has denied access to Spanish military bases for the U.S. bombing campaign against Iran. Spain increased defence spending from 1.42% of GDP in 2024 to 2% in 2025 and has said it does not plan to raise it beyond 2.1%.

As he returned to Washington, Trump told reporters, "Spain was very generous today, you know."

By Aghakazim Guliyev