Trump called for an end to trade with Spain. The national index fell 2.7%.

Speaking on July 8 at the NATO summit in Ankara, President Donald Trump called Spain a “hopeless case” and said the U.S. should no longer trade with it, according to Bloomberg. Addressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the U.S. leader said he would like to completely halt trade with Madrid. The U.S. Treasury Department is compiling a list of Spanish goods that could be subject to a trade embargo, Politico reported, citing a source in the U.S. administration.

The Spanish IBEX 35 stock index subsequently plummeted by 2.7%. In particular, bank stocks fell sharply: Banco Santander’s shares plummeted by 5%, while BBVA lost 3%.

Trump criticized Spain for not spending enough on defense, saying that it “doesn’t participate and doesn’t pay.” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte responded by noting that the country has already raised its defense spending to 2% of GDP, calling this significant progress, though he acknowledged that some issues remain unresolved. Madrid became the only NATO member to refuse to support the new target of increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP, Bloomberg reports.

Trump had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's refusal to grant the U.S. military access to bases for strikes against Iran.

Following the threat made on Wednesday, Sánchez emphasized that relations with the U.S. remain positive, but noted that trade negotiations with EU countries can only take place at the bloc-wide level.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor