Trump Says US Will Cut Trade Ties With Spain After Being Denied Use of Spanish Bases

The U.S. president expressed frustration after Spain and the UK blocked U.S. forces from using their bases to strike Iran.

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing deploys a drag chute to slow down after landing at Morón Air Base, Spain, during a Bomber Task Force Europe deployment on May 20, 2025. Cristina Oliveira/U.S. Air Force

U.S. President Donald Trump said March 3 that he has instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to sever trade relations with Spain after the country’s leaders blocked the use of their military bases for U.S. forces.

“Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases,” Trump said during a bilateral White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “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, but we don’t have to. But they were unfriendly, and so I told them, we don’t want to.”