The United States has threatened reprisals to Spain if it does not put 5% of GDP in defense. Olive oil trembles

They do not run easy times for Spanish olive oil. Still Broken marketthe turbulence in prices and suspicion of the “speculation”now an unexpected threat is added: Donald Trump’s anger. Yesterday, after the disagreement between Washington and Madrid during the NATO Summit, the Republican said he will “pay” Spain for his refusal to dedicate 5% of GDP to military spending. He did not go into details, but it was enough to stir the ghost of the tariffs.

Especially for a sector, that of olive oil, with a key weight in the US.

“They pay double”. It is not the first time that Donald Trump shows Your anger For the reluctance of Spain to dedicate 5% of GDP to defense, but never before had it done so round. On Wednesday, after Sánchez insisted on his refusal to reach the same expense commitment as the rest of NATO allies, the Republican warned Spain that would have to pay yes or yes.

“It is terrible what Spain is doing and we will make it pay,” Trump started After the NATO summit held in The Hague. “It is the only country that refuses to pay. We are going to make them pay twice, but otherwise (…). The Spanish economy is going very well, but it could be razed if something happens.”

Have I heard tariffs? The US president did not stay there. He said he would look for a way to “compensate him” and launched a notice: “We are negotiating with Spain a commercial agreement and we will make them pay double.” The experts They recognize that it is difficult for the US in less than two weeks The deadline agreed by Washington and Brussels expires to avoid a tariff war, his words have raised blisters.

“It takes us out of the market”. The restlessness is greater among the sectors with the greatest presence on the other side of the Atlantic and that, therefore, more harmed would be seen if Trump uses its tariffs to ‘punish’ Spain. In 2024 our country exported goods worth more than more than 21.200 million of dollars, with a prominent weight of certain sectors, such as machinery, pharmacist or agri -food. And in the latter there are those who already recognize their concern.

“It seems tremendously serious. It gives us panic and of course (if fulfilled) it completely takes us out of the market,” Recognize to the Efe Rafael Sánchez de Puerta agency, president of the Agrifood Cooperatives Oil section. The sector knows what he’s talking about, he remembers, because years ago he has already suffered The tariffs activated by Washington in the middle of Boeing-Airbus commercial war.

A figure: 1,031 million. The olive oil is not the only sector that has been put on guard. In the last hours the looks have also been directed to other industries with a strong presence in the US, such as The wine or pharmacist. However The data The government shows that the oil mills are one of the most vulnerable to Trump’s anger, at least within the agricultural sector.

Last year they sold in the US more than 113,400 tons of olive oil by 1,013 million of euros, 58% more than the previous year. In fact, the American is one of the largest markets in the sector, after the Italian. If the White House decided to apply levies to olive oil, Spanish producers would see how they are complicated 15% of its exports.

The what … and when. The tariff ghost also caught the oil industry at a complex time, after several years marked by squalid campaigns due to droughts and a not much simpler horizon. Although farmers are enjoying a good harvest, which will overcome the 1.4 million tonsthey face a price drop in origin that has dragged them to a committed situation. So much that the Ministry of Agriculture has already moved to remove oil from the market, If you judge it necessary.

Images | Gage Skidmore (Flickr) and NEUFAL54

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