[Global Network Reporter Zhao Jiandong] Recently, US President Trump has repeatedly threatened Spain around the issue of military expenditure. According to Reuters and the US "Political News Network", Trump issued another warning of trade sanctions including "punitive tariffs" to Spain at the White House on October 14th. He said he was dissatisfied with Spain's refusal to increase the proportion of defense spending in GDP to 5%.

Reported that Trump accused Madrid of "unbelievable disrespect" for NATO."Spain is the only country that has not committed to increasing the share to 5%," Trump told reporters."I think Spain's approach is a very bad thing for NATO.""I am considering trade penalties for their actions through tariffs, and I think I may do it."

During his visit to the White House on October 9, Finnish President Stuart said that because Spain refused to significantly increase military spending, it should be considered to "push" Spain out of NATO.

Reuters said that facing Trump's latest threat, Spanish Foreign Minister Alvarez, who is visiting China, responded. Alvarez said that Spain is a "reliable member" of NATO and currently has 3,000 soldiers deployed in NATO. "Spain's commitment and contribution to (transatlantic) security is beyond doubt."

At the NATO summit in June this year, member states promised to gradually increase their annual defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Although Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez signed the summit declaration, he still insisted on maintaining his country's defense spending at the current level, which is 2.1% of GDP. In response, Trump threatened to make Spain pay for refusing to further increase military spending in trade negotiations. According to Spanish media reports in August, the Spanish military has "completely shelved" plans to purchase F-35 stealth fighters from the United States.

The Trump administration has been asking other NATO members to increase the proportion of defense spending in GDP to 5%, claiming that Europe cannot be allowed to "ride the US car" on defense issues, which has caused strong dissatisfaction among many allies. However, NATO data shows that the United States will account for 3.4% of military spending in 2024. Trump claimed that the United States did not have to abide by the 5% target, but at the same time asked other allies to fulfill their obligations.