Spain has been criticized by US President Donald Trump during a press conference at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for not “fulfilling the commitment” agreed by all the member countries of the alliance of raising 5% of GDP defense. “Terrible what Spain did,” said the Republican on Wednesday.
Trump emphasized that Madrid was the only member of the covenant to “breach” the pact, and indicated that he intends to impose economic costs on Spain during the bilateral negotiations of his tariff policy. The Spanish government, in fact, agreed to agree with NATO to be excluded from the need to meet the new goal.
“They will pay twice as much in a trade agreement with us. I’m serious. The Spaniards will pay back to us in commercial negotiations,” Trump promised.
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“I make a point of negotiating directly with Spain. Spain will pay,” Trump added, raising criticism.
Earlier, also at NATO’s summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez responded indirectly Trump’s recent speeches about the Iberian country to be a “problem” in NATO negotiations. “We are always the solution, never the problem,” said Sanchez. In the morning, a statement issued by NATO stated that all allies committed to the new target of 5% of GDP with defense, however.
