On March 3, US President Donald Trump instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "terminate all relations" with Spain following Madrid's refusal to open the Rota and Morón bases for strikes against Iran. "We're going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don't want anything to do with Spain," Trump stated during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.

Spain has prohibited the use of its bases, citing a bilateral agreement with the United States that requires operations to comply with international law and have the support of the United Nations. "The bases of Spanish sovereignty will not be used for anything that is not within the agreement with the United States or for anything that does not fit within the charter of the United Nations," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stated. After that, the US withdrew 15 aircraft from Spanish facilities.

Bessent confirmed that he would direct the USTR and the Department of Commerce to initiate investigations aimed at imposing sanctions against Spain. Trump referenced a Supreme Court ruling, stating that it "fully affirmed" his right to impose a trade embargo under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), despite the court limiting the application of this law for global tariffs.