Trump's Tariff Stick Swings Towards Spain, EU Vows Appropriate Response

According to comprehensive reports from CCTV News and other media, on October 15 local time, the European Commission responded that the EU would "as always, respond appropriately to any attack against one or more of our member states."

Olof Gill, spokesperson for the European Commission, stated that trade falls under the exclusive competence of the European Commission, and the EU would respond to such attacks against member states as a whole. If necessary, the EU would take corresponding measures.

Gill also called for resolving differences through dialogue, stating that the trade agreement signed between the EU and the US in July is a suitable platform for addressing any issues.

On October 14 local time, Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez reiterated his country's refusal to increase defense spending to 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In response, Trump told reporters at the White House: "They are the only country in NATO that hasn't raised their defense spending to 5%. Spain is doing very well with our support, so I'm very unhappy. I'm considering trade punishment against them with tariffs."

"The dispute over defense spending is not about increasing spending for the sake of it, but about addressing real and existing threats," the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Trade said in a statement. "We are doing everything we can to develop the necessary (defense) capabilities and contribute to the collective defense of our allies."

The Trump administration has repeatedly urged NATO members to increase defense expenditures, claiming that Europe cannot "free-ride" on the US for defense and that the US will not defend NATO countries that underinvest in joint defense.

Under pressure from the US, at the NATO summit in June this year, NATO member states committed to gradually increasing their annual defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035—a figure proposed by Trump. However, Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez insisted on increasing Spain's defense spending to only 2.1% of GDP. The Spanish government believes that a defense spending level of 2.1% is sufficient.