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Spain will be protected against any attempt by US President Donald Trump to impose punitive tariffs on the country in retaliation for its refusal to meet NATO's 5% target, the European Commission said on Wednesday, as the dispute over defence spending further interweaves with lingering trade tensions.
All EU countries, including Spain, are bound by a common commercial policy, which means their products face the same tariffs when they are sold abroad. Technically speaking, it would be possible for the US to single out Spanish-made goods at customs and place them under a duty higher than the 15% rate currently in place.
But for Brussels, which jealously guards its exclusive competence on trade, such discrimination would be anathema.
"We will respond appropriately, as we always do, to any measures taken against one or more of our member states," said Olof Gill, the Commission's spokesperson for trade.
Gill did not speci
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