Sánchez: "US tariffs on Spain are already doubly unfair."

The Prime Minister points out that Spain has a trade deficit with the US, and therefore, in bilateral terms, the imposition of tariffs would not be justified under the narrative championed by Trump to launch his trade war.

The confrontation between Spain and the United States, which began at the NATO summit, continues. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez responded to Donald Trump's threats to make Spain "pay double" with tariffs for the lower defense spending he hopes to undertake by stating that trade tariffs are already "doubly unfair" for the country.

Trump has justified his trade war by citing the United States' trade deficit in goods with the rest of the world , including the European Union. However, Sánchez pointed out that, in bilateral terms, it is the United States that has the trade surplus with Spain. "From the beginning, these measures have been described as unfair and unilateral," Sánchez emphasized.

"Spain is a supportive, committed, but also sovereign country, and that is the balance we find in the declaration agreed upon by the 32 NATO Member States, including the United States," the Prime Minister also stated.

Sánchez noted that Spain will comply with the capabilities agreed upon within NATO, but the Spanish Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense estimate that this will not require the agreed 5%, but rather the 2.1% defended by the country . This figure, moreover, is "absolutely compatible with the commitment to sustain and strengthen the Welfare State," he emphasized.

In any case, Sánchez echoed the words of Carlos Cuerpo , Minister of Economy, pointing out that trade policy is not negotiated bilaterally , but rather that Member States have ceded that authority to the European Commission. For the Spanish president, "the Customs Union is also a single market" and is a prerogative of the Commission, which "we support in the process of negotiating new trade rules with the US."

The Spanish government's top official recalled that the US already imposes tariffs of 10% on all European goods, 50% on steel and aluminum, and 25% on vehicles. Given this, although the Commission has prepared retaliatory packages in case an agreement is not reached , Plan A has always been to find a negotiated and mutually satisfactory solution in a process in which Sánchez does not conceive that his refusal to spend more on defense could harm the bloc.

"NATO and trade policy are two distinct areas of debate," the president concluded.