<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, reminded the President of the United States, Donald Trump, this Thursday that Spain's trade policy with third countries "is directed from Brussels" and that the 10% tariffs imposed by the United States affect "all European products, including Spanish ones."</strong></h4> Sánchez made these statements in Brussels upon his arrival at the European Council meeting, one day after Donald Trump threatened to make Spain pay "double" in tariffs in retaliation for the Prime Minister's decision to disassociate itself, at the NATO Summit in The Hague, from the obligation to allocate 5% of GDP to defense spending, accepted by the other allies. "Spain is a country of solidarity, committed to the member states of the Alliance, but also sovereign, and that is the balance we find in the Declaration agreed upon by the 32 member states of the NATO, including the United States," affirmed Pedro Sánchez. "We are going to fulfill our capabilities," he continued. "The Spanish Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense tell us that the capabilities agreed upon 20 days ago, on June 5, with NATO, represent 2.1% of our GDP, and that is what we are going to do," he continued. "This commitment is absolutely compatible with the commitment to sustain and strengthen the welfare state in Spain," he asserted. "With regard to the US president's statements, I want to remind you that Europe and the world have been suffering from a trade war, tariff and customs measures that we have described, at least in Spain, from the outset, as unfair," the Prime Minister warned. "In any case, as the Minister (of Economy, Carlos) Cuerpo said yesterday, and I echo those words, what is clear is that trade policy is a policy that is directed from here, from Brussels," he recalled. “We are in a customs union, that's also the European Union, a single market, and trade policy is obviously negotiated by Brussels on behalf of all Member States, ever since those tariffs and duties were imposed, which I remind the Spanish, are 10% on all European products, including Spanish ones,” he added. “They are 50% on aluminum and steel, originating in Europe, including Spain. They are 25% on vehicles that are also manufactured and produced in Europe, including Spain. Therefore, we are now talking about tariffs and duties being imposed on Europe by the US administration,” Sánchez specified. “Since then, Europe has negotiated constructively with the US administration to establish new trade rules, and what we are doing is supporting, in this case, the European Commission,” the president stated. "But from a more political perspective, what I want to convey is that Spain is an open country, a country that is a friend to its friends, and we consider the United States a friend of Spain," he concluded.
