{"database": "openregs", "table": "crs_reports", "rows": [["R48966", "Spain: Background and U.S. Relations", "2026-06-02T04:00:00Z", "2026-06-04T12:08:33Z", "Active", "Reports", "Derek E. Mix", "Spain, Europe, Russia & Eurasia", "Relations between the United States and Spain have experienced tensions during the second Trump Administration. Over the past several decades, the two countries have had extensive cultural ties, shared a mutually beneficial economic relationship, and cooperated closely on numerous diplomatic and security issues. Spain has been a member of NATO since 1982 and a member of the European Union (EU) since 1986. Some Members of Congress may have an interest in Spain\u2019s internal political situation and relations with the United States. \nPolitical Situation\nPrime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez of the center-left Socialist Workers\u2019 Party (PSOE) has led the government of Spain since 2018. PSOE formed a minority coalition government with Sumar, an alliance of left-wing parties, following Spain\u2019s 2023 election. The government relies on parliamentary support from smaller regional parties to pass legislation. The center-right Popular Party (PP) and the far-right party Vox are the main opposition parties. The next election is due by August 2027. King Felipe VI is Spain\u2019s head of state.\nU.S.-Spain Tensions\nPrime Minister S\u00e1nchez has been a leading European critic of the Trump Administration\u2019s foreign policy. The S\u00e1nchez government has expressed opposition to the U.S. military operation against Iran that began in February 2026 and denied the use of military bases in Spain to U.S. forces involved in strikes against Iran. The Trump Administration has strongly criticized Spain\u2019s position, and President Trump has threatened to \u201ccut off all trade\u201d with Spain in response.\nAt NATO\u2019s 2025 summit, Spain was the only member of the alliance not to commit to spending 5% of gross domestic product on defense by 2035 (3.5% on core defense requirements, such as equipment and personnel, and 1.5% on defense- and security-related spending, such as critical infrastructure, civil preparedness, and a strong defense industrial base). President Trump strongly criticized Spain\u2019s position.\nSecurity and Defense Relations\nSpain has played an important role in U.S. defense strategy for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Five U.S. destroyers equipped with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system are based in Spain, and the United States also has access to an air base in Spain. Historically, the United States and Spain have cooperated closely on counterterrorism. Spanish forces participated in the NATO-led missions in Afghanistan for nearly two decades. \nEconomic Relations\nTwo-way direct investment between the United States and Spain totaled more than $121 billion in 2024, with Spanish investment in the United States accounting for nearly three-quarters of that total. U.S.-Spain trade in goods and services was valued at nearly $75 billion in 2025, and the United States had a trade surplus of almost $3 billion.\nSelected Foreign Policy and Security Issues\nSpanish armed forces participate in more than a dozen international peacekeeping and security operations, including NATO and EU missions and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.\nFollowing Russia\u2019s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Spain has provided Ukraine with military, financial, and humanitarian assistance and supported EU sanctions against Russia. Spain hosts more than a quarter of a million Ukrainian refugees.\nRelations between Spain and Israel have been strained over the past several years. Spanish officials criticized Israel\u2019s military operations in Gaza and against Iran. In 2024, Spain formally recognized a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders. \nThe S\u00e1nchez government has deepened Spain\u2019s ties with the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC, or China). S\u00e1nchez has traveled to China four times in four years, and the two countries have signed numerous trade and cooperation agreements. Some analysts assert that S\u00e1nchez\u2019s approach to China is a strategy to diversify Spain\u2019s economic ties in the context of tensions with the United States over tariffs and foreign policy issues. ", "https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48966/R48966.8.pdf", "https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/HTML/R48966.html"]], "columns": ["id", "title", "publish_date", "update_date", "status", "content_type", "authors", "topics", "summary", "pdf_url", "html_url"], "primary_keys": ["id"], "primary_key_values": ["R48966"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.2756080066319555, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}