After the refusal of access to Spanish ports by ships including those employed in the security programme maritime of Washington, in some cases related to the transport of goods by and for Israel, frictions are sharpening between the government of Washington and that of Madrid. Yesterday the Federal Maritime Commission, The federal agency that supervises the maritime transport system of the United States, communicated that, "in order to to address the unfavourable conditions created by Spain, the FMC proposes two types of measures: the application of a tariff of $200,000 per voyage charged to all ships flying the Spanish flag and import restrictions in the United States of certain Spanish products. The categories that may be subject to restrictions include perfumes and cosmetics, oils and fats, ceramics, stone artifacts, as well as sugar and confectionery products'.

These are proposed remedies on which the authority which offered the Spanish government the opportunity to be heard, will have to make a final decision. The FMC has opened a public consultation to collect observations on the effects of the proposed measures and on the possible alternatives.

The proposals are the result of an investigation launched by the FMC in December 2024 and continued with a new collection of information in December 2025. According to the Commission, the have provided conclusive evidence that Spain denied access to its ports to US vessels, creating conditions detrimental to maritime trade American abroad.

In the course of its investigation, the FMC referred to its jurisdiction, provided for in section 19 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, to counteract the unfavourable conditions for navigation in the U.S. foreign trade arising from laws, regulations, or practices of foreign governments. The legislation allows for intervention with compensatory measures, including economic sanctions and limitations to commercial traffic.

The maritime dispute is part of a more political tensions between the United States and Spain, linked to the especially the war in the Gaza Strip and the position of the taken by the Spanish government towards Israel. The policy of opposition to the Israeli war in Gaza and of limitation of military support to Israel has developed under the government of the socialist Pedro Sánchez, already before Donald Trump's inauguration in the White House, with his second term in the US presidency which began in January 2025. In May 2024, in fact, Madrid had recognized formally the State of Palestine, together with Ireland and Norway, provoking a harsh reaction from the Israeli government. During the 2025, the Spanish government had, among other things, strengthened the measures aimed at preventing the national territory and the Spanish ports from were used for the transit of weapons destined for Israel. The contrast with Washington has nevertheless widened considerably accentuated during the second Trump presidency, when the divergences on war and military cooperation have been added to others controversies, including defence spending within NATO. The US administration has challenged the Spanish position on military spending and the Sánchez government defended the the possibility of meeting the Alliance's commitments without fully adopt the spending targets required by the Member States United.

The question of ports, however, has a chronology which starts before January 2025. The denials challenged by the FMC in fact, they date back to 2024, therefore to the period of the administration led by Joe Biden, and the investigation was launched in December of the same year, before Trump's return to the White House. In December 2024, the FMC had reported at least three incidents of denial of access to Spanish ports occurred in the same year, with the last two involving U.S. ships ( of 6 December 2024). The next update of December 2025 specified that the information collected had confirmed the pushbacks of at least three US ships in November 2024 and that The policy behind these decisions was still in place ( of 22 December 2025).