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EXPERT COMMENT

Spain’s leader has taken a strong position in refusing the US demand to use Spanish bases to strike Iran. Europe should show solidarity in the face of Trump’s threats.

On Tuesday 3 March, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration would cut off all trade with Spain in retaliation for the country’s refusal to allow the US military to use the Spanish bases of Rota and Morón to launch attacks on Iran.

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his visit to the White House, Trump went on to criticize the European nation, saying ‘Spain has been terrible.’ He then launched into a tirade about Spain’s refusal to commit 5 per cent of GDP to defence spending, before returning to a clear threat to Spanish sovereignty: ‘We could use their base if we want, we could just fly in and use it, nobody’s going to tell us not to use it.’ All the while, Merz looked on. 

How the Trump administration would follow through on its threats remains unclear. Amazon just days earlier announced a total of €33.7 billion investment to build data centres in Spain, which could perhaps be the place it could start. Adding to the confusion, on 4 March, White House Spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, said that Spain had ‘agreed to cooperate with the US military’. The Spanish government swiftly denied that this was the case. 

Nevertheless, the European Commission should emphasize that economic coercion against a member state, regardless of who is doing the coercion, will trigger the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument – known as the ‘trade bazooka’.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.