The government hides behind the EU in the face of Trump's trade threat.

Pedro Sánchez was aware of the risk of an angry reaction and even retaliation from Donald Trump for refusing to comply with his demand to increase Spain's military spending to 5% of GDP. Not surprisingly, the unpredictable US president had already threatened to unleash a tariff war against the rest of the world and had no qualms about publicly humiliating Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House.

Trump's initial reaction to Sánchez's decision to maintain defense spending at 2.1% was, however, restrained. "There's a problem with Spain," he simply warned, while aboard Air Force One en route to the NATO summit in The Hague. "Spain is always the solution, never the problem," the Prime Minister retorted yesterday at the end of a NATO meeting, which he hailed as a "success" for having achieved its objectives: "We have safeguarded Spain's interests and the unity of the allies," he celebrated.

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But the clash over defense spending could lead to a trade confrontation. Trump left the summit threatening to double Spain's tariffs for rejecting the 5% defense spending stipulated by the rest of the allies. "They'll come back to us in tariffs, because I'm not going to let that happen," the US president said at the end of the summit in The Hague.

“I like Spain. It's unfair that they're not paying. I'm going to negotiate directly with Spain. I'll do it myself. They're going to pay. They'll pay more money this way. You should tell them to go back and pay,” Trump said in his final press conference. “Are you a journalist? Yes, tell them to back down. They owe it to all the countries that are going to pay the 5%,” he insisted in response to questions from La Vanguardia , considering the exception negotiated by Sánchez with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte “unfair.”

“I don't know what the problem is. It's a shame. So we'll make up for it. We're going to negotiate a trade agreement with Spain. We're going to make them pay double. And I mean it. We're going to force Spain to do it,” Trump threatened.

“I like Spain. I have many Spanish friends; they are wonderful people. But Spain is the only country, among all the others, that refuses to pay,” he reiterated. But the clash between Trump and Sánchez didn't take place face-to-face.

The Spanish leader, in fact, left The Hague—heading to Brussels, where he is participating in the European Council today—without even greeting the US president. “I haven't had the opportunity to greet him or exchange a few words with him,” Sánchez admitted.

"We have safeguarded Spain's interests and the unity of all our allies," the Spanish leader celebrates.

The Prime Minister avoided any direct contact with the White House resident, both on Tuesday night during the dinner hosted by the King and Queen of the Netherlands, and yesterday at the NATO summit. In the family photo, Sánchez was positioned at one end. And in the closed-door meeting, he was separated from Trump by three other leaders at the large round table.

Sánchez, however, denied any intention: "It was a coincidence that I couldn't greet him." And he assured that "there will be other opportunities." But he also declined to comment on Rutte's flattering tone with Trump: "Everyone should draw their own conclusions," he argued.

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The "constructive ambiguity" of the declaration signed by all allies—including Spain—allows Sánchez to argue that 2.1% of defense spending is "a sufficient, realistic, and compatible investment with our welfare state."

The president warned that if he had accepted Trump's demand, Spain would have to allocate more than €300 billion to defense through 2035. These resources, he warned, could only come from increased taxes on citizens or cuts to healthcare, education, and public pensions.

Sánchez argued that the important thing is not to establish an "arbitrary" percentage of defense spending, as Trump's demand of 5% implies, but rather to establish the "technical and human capabilities" of each country to strengthen NATO and guarantee deterrence and defense. "Spain is a serious country that fulfills its commitments," he insisted, "and will continue to be a key player in the architecture of European and Atlantic security."

He also responded to Alberto Núñez Feijóo's criticism, warning that if the PP leader had been president, "5% would have signed here." "And that would have been a complete mistake for Spain," he concluded.

The PP, however, persisted with its criticism, accusing Sánchez of "lying" to appease his parliamentary partners, because in its view, like the rest of its allies, he signed the 5% agreement. However, it asserted that it "does not condone Trump's threats to Spain," "much less if he intends to use our country's producers to take revenge for the Prime Minister's lack of solidarity." Therefore, the PP took an equidistant stance: "Neither with the president who lies nor with the president who threatens."

The EC is responsible for negotiating on behalf of all member states.

But Trump's threats to Spain are difficult to implement because trade matters fall under the jurisdiction of the European Commission, and if he imposes higher tariffs, he would have to do so across the entire EU before July 9, when the trade truce agreed upon by Washington and Brussels expires.

This was the warning issued yesterday by Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo from Paris: "The trade relationship between the EU and the US is the most important in the world and is a treasure we want to protect." However, he emphasized that the European Commission is responsible for negotiating on behalf of all member states: "This is the framework within which trade relations between the US and EU countries must be defined or redefined."