Listen: Does Spanish PM Sánchez have real EU backing in his standoff with Trump?

Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.

EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.

You can find the transcript here if you prefer reading:

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is standing up to Donald Trump.

He condemned the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and denied the Americans access to Spanish military bases.

In retaliation, Washington has vowed to cut trade ties with Madrid.

How far can Pedro Sánchez oppose the United States?

[Trump:] "Spain has been terrible, I told Scott to cut all dealings with Spain."

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez is the only European leader to have explicitly opposed the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which began on 28 February.

He even drew a parallel with the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, which, in his view, had the opposite effect of the stated goal: eliminating Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

As a result, Pedro Sánchez declared his opposition to the US using the military bases of Rota and Morón in southern Spain in their attack on Iran.

And Donald Trump did not appreciate it. According to him, Spain is behaving terribly. And since the US president holds grudges, he announced he would cut all trade ties with Madrid.

Can Spain count on European support in this dispute?

Donald Trump’s harsh words about the Spanish Prime Minister were spoken in the Oval Office of the White House in the presence of German chancellor Friedrich Merz.

When later asked by a journalist about this issue, Friedrich Merz did not, in front of the cameras, defend Madrid, nor did he mention the legitimate right of the Spanish to refuse cooperation in this war effort —especially a war that falls outside the bounds of international law.

Instead, he joined Donald Trump in criticising the Spaniards’ reluctance to spend five percent of their GDP on defence.

In contrast, Spain has received explicit support from France. President Emmanuel Macron called Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday to express his solidarity, according to the president’s office, which mentioned threats of US economic coercion.

The European Commission, in turn, showed its support for Spain on Wednesday, stating it was ready to act, if necessary, to defend the interests of the European Union.

If the United States follows through on its threats and imposes tariffs on Spanish products, what options does the EU have to respond? And how far is the EU willing to go?

The EU sets and implements trade policy for all 27 member states, and it is not permitted for the United States to apply differentiated tariff treatment across European countries.

Furthermore, the EU signed an agreement with the US administration last year to cap American tariffs at 15 percent.

Tariffs on Spanish products would violate trade rules in several ways.

But history has shown that this won’t stop Donald Trump. The current US tariffs are illegal, yet they are still in force.

If the European Commission believes the United States is going too far, it can decide to impose its own tariffs on American products in retaliation.

This measure was already considered in early 2025 when European products were threatened with US tariffs of up to 50 percent.

However, this step was never taken.

And for good reason: several countries on the continent, like Germany, export massively to the United States and would have much to lose in a trade war.

This explains Friedrich Merz’s reluctance to contradict Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

In the coming weeks, the European Commission will likely try to persuade the Americans not to take trade measures against Spain.

The prospect of a European counterattack to defend Madrid seems unlikely at this stage, though the Commission cannot entirely rule it out— at least to maintain a balance of power.

The Commission’s diplomatic efforts could also involve urging Spain to oppose US decisions less directly, to avoid provoking Donald Trump’s anger.