Why Trump’s Trade Threat Puts Spain’s Energy Security on the Line
Exxon and Chevron’s $26.5 Billion Quarter Draws Trump’s Ire Natalia Katona is a freelance commodity analyst, based in the United Arab Emirates.
Donald Trump’s July 8 orderto halt tradewith Spain has yet to become an energy embargo, but Madrid can no longer dismiss it as political theatre.
It was the second such threat since March 2026, this time delivered directly to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after Spain refused to commit 5% of GDP to defence spending and declined to support US operations against Iran.
Washington is now reportedly examining products that could be targeted, even though EU customs rules make it illegal to isolate one member state from the bloc’s common trade policy.
Spain has spent the last two years, including the Middle East crisis, increasing its reliance on the very country threatening to weaponize trade against it.
The exposure is visible first in crude oil.
The US supplied an average of roughly 250,000 b/d to Spain in 2025 (out of total 1.2 million b/d), mostly WTI Midland, and has recently alternated with Mexico as the country’s largest source.
Spain’s crude slate is comparatively diversified, with substantial barrels also arriving from Brazil, Nigeria, Libya and Kazakhstan, which makes an outright shortage unlikely; however, it does not make the loss of US supply painless.
When the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted Middle Eastern trade, Spain’scrude importsrose 15.8% year-on-year in April.
As the disruption caused refined products shortage on the European market, products refined products crack spreads were pushed to decades highs, and the Spanish refineries maximized their output.
By June, imports had climbed to around 1.25 million b/d from 1.07 million b/d a year earlier.
Spain was among lucky ones, who did not have much Middle Eastern barrels in the imports slate apart from Iraq (averaging close to 100,000 b/d, which effectively disappeared in April).
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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