Spain's prime minister told CNBC on Wednesday that a trade war was not in the interests of the European Union or the United States.
Pedro Sanchez told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick: "We have strong transatlantic ties... Our economies are so interconnected that I don't think a trade war is consistent with (any) interests of the United States and the European Union” during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"A trade war is a zero-sum gain," he added. "We need to focus on how to strengthen our transatlantic relationship, which is now more important than ever."
Since taking office on Monday, President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on EU goods entering the United States, telling reporters that the EU "treats us very, very badly. So they're going to face tariffs." The only way... you will Get it fair. "
On Tuesday, Trump said his administration was discussing imposing an additional 10% tariff on imports from China starting in February. He also warned that Mexico and Canada could also be targeted by import tariffs.
EU Economic Commissioner tells CNBC the EU will respond to any tariffs imposed by the US
Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick: “If there is a need to defend our economic interests, we will respond in an appropriate manner. "
"We are ready to defend our values and our interests and rights if necessary," he added.
Dombrovskis stressed that European officials were in dialogue with their U.S. counterparts to find "pragmatic" solutions to the tariffs, noting that global economic growth could be affected if economic ties between the two countries were harmed. .
NATO spending
In addition to the trade imbalance with the EU (the EU had a surplus in trade goods with the United States in 2023, but a deficit in services during the same period), another area of confrontation between the EU and the United States is defense spending.
Trump frequently denounced European countries in the Western military alliance during his first term. Not spending 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense spending.
In 2018, at the height of Trump's fury with NATO, only six members achieved this goal. NATO estimates that by 2024, 23 member states will achieve the 2% target. Spain is not one of them.
In fact, the latest NATO data estimates that Spain will be the country with the lowest defense spending in 2024, with defense spending accounting for only 1.28% of GDP.
Sanchez defended Madrid's defense spending record, saying it had been working to increase the figures.
“Rest assured, Spain is very committed to achieving the target of 2% of GDP in defense spending, but I would also say that in the last 10 years our total defense spending has also increased by 70%. If we consider these figures from absolute In terms of value, we can say that Spain is the tenthth NATO’s biggest contributor,” he said.
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