SPAIN: Trade Battles, AI Protections & more – 9th July 2026

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 9th of July twenty twenty-six. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

First off this week. On Wednesday the 8th, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. to halt all trade with Spain, describing the country as a terrible NATO partner.

Speaking alongside Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General in Türkiye, Trump accused the country of failing to meet NATO’s new defence spending target of 5% of GDP and criticised the central government for not allowing the US to use its airspace and military bases during the American-Israeli-Iranian war.

Addressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trump instructed him to stop trade with the European country immediately, saying he wanted no business with it. The US exported over twenty-six billion dollars worth of goods last year, generating a trade surplus of over five billion dollars.

In response, the central government downplayed Trump’s remarks. A spokesperson for the government stated that the country continued to enjoy strong social, cultural, and economic ties with the United States.

In border news, an update on Gibraltar, after years of stalemate because of previous broken Brexit agreements.

After nearly 300 years of border controls, on the 15th of July Spain will start removing checkpoints at the Gibraltar land frontier ahead of a new UK–EU agreement.

The provisional deal eliminates routine land border checks, allowing around 15,000 daily cross-border workers to travel freely between the two places. Instead, immigration controls will move to Gibraltar’s airport and port, where both Gibraltarian and Spanish officials will carry out checks, with Spain having the final authority on entry into the Schengen area.

Gibraltar has accepted concessions, including greater Spanish oversight of future residency permits, closer alignment of tobacco prices with Spain, and the introduction of a VAT-style sales tax. Meanwhile, it is strengthening security around its airport and customs zone with new fencing, surveillance technology and police patrols.

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo described the agreement as truly historic, while stressing that Gibraltar’s British identity and sovereignty remain unchanged.

On to the European Parliamentary policies now. On Wednesday the 8th, the EU approved giving 120 million euros from the European Solidarity Fund to help Spain recover from the devastating twenty twenty-five wildfires, which caused an estimated 4.3 billion euros in damage and claimed eight lives.

The money will support clearing burned areas, restoring infrastructure, telecommunications, transport, education, water systems, and cultural heritage, and providing temporary housing and emergency assistance.

While the country often has wildfires, especially in the dry heat, twenty twenty-five was particularly bad, causing prolonged drought and extreme heat, accounting for 38% of all land affected by wildfires across the EU in twenty twenty-five.

In the tech world, on Wednesday the 8th, the country launched an international coalition to strengthen children's rights and safety in the age of artificial intelligence, bringing together more than twenty countries and major international organizations across Spain, France, Kenya and the EU.

The pilot was first announced at the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Switzerland. It aims to ensure AI systems protect children's safety, healthy development and fundamental rights. Organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union are also involved.

Members pledged to work with governments, technology companies, civil society and educators to develop child-centred AI governance and greater involvement of children in shaping AI policies that affect them.

On Monday the 6th, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer opened its new Global Command Centre in Madrid to strengthen and modernise its worldwide supply chain for innovative medicines.

The state-of-the-art facility will monitor shipments across nearly 180 countries in real time, tracking factors such as temperature, location, delivery times, geopolitical risks and logistics performance.

The Madrid centre will work alongside a second operations hub in Chennai, India, to provide continuous global oversight and rapid incident management across all time zones.

Let’s turn to the capital. Last week Madrid's regional parliament approved Isabel Díaz Ayuso's Law on the Unborn Child, which treats an embryo as a family member for administrative purposes, allowing expectant families to access benefits before birth.

These include larger family status, tax deductions, transport discounts, school meal grants, and housing assistance. Most benefits require proof of pregnancy, while financial aid and large-family status apply after fourteen weeks' gestation.

If a pregnancy does not continue, families must notify the regional government but are not required to repay benefits already received. Partido Popular presents the law as practical support for families, a measure to encourage higher birth rates, and a defence of life. Critics argue that recognizing the unborn as a rights-bearing family member carries symbolic legal significance, potentially shifting attention away from pregnant women's rights and laying groundwork for future challenges to abortion rights.

Far-right party Vox supported the measure but criticised it for not granting embryos full legal personality.

On to the church now. Late last week, Spain's Catholic Church announced that it currently has 349 active causes for canonisation, involving more than 3,000 people who could one day be recognised as saints.

Canonisation is the Catholic Church's official process for declaring someone a saint. It requires evidence that the person lived a life of exceptional virtue and, in most cases, that two miracles have been attributed to them after their death.

The figures were presented at the Spanish Episcopal Conference following a three-year project to compile records from dioceses across Spain and the Vatican. Most of the candidates are being considered for lives of heroic virtue, while more than fifty are recognised as martyrs, many of whom died during the religious persecution before and during the Spanish Civil War.

The announcement highlights the influence of the Catholic Church on the country, where religious traditions continue to shape many local festivals, public holidays and cultural customs that residents encounter throughout the year.

Moving on to trade, on Monday the 7th, it was revealed by Euronews that Morocco's olive oil exports to Spain have risen dramatically over the last few months, with imports rising from around 100 tonnes between January and April twenty twenty-five to over 10,000 tonnes during the same period in twenty twenty-six.

Despite the sharp growth, Moroccan olive oil still accounts for only a small share of the Spanish market, representing around 7.5% of Spain's imports, while domestic production remains far higher at an estimated 1.3 million tonnes.

The increase, however, has been driven by Morocco's strong harvest following improved weather, lower prices and favourable EU trade arrangements. Meanwhile, Spanish olive oil exports to Morocco have fallen by more than 75%, reversing the previous trade balance.

Although Morocco has become a more significant supplier, Tunisia remains Spain's largest non-EU source of olive oil, and there is no evidence that Moroccan imports are replacing Spain's domestic production any time soon.

Next, on Wednesday the 8th, Carrefour Spain launched a mobile Carrefour Express supermarket to bring groceries and everyday essentials to rural communities across Galicia where there are no local shops.

The company will operate the service from Cerceda in northwest Galicia, sending the mobile supermarket to dozens of villages every weekday. Customers pay the same prices as they would in a regular Carrefour Express store, while Carrefour covers all travel costs to guarantee equal access to essential goods. Carrefour says the initiative supports its commitment to improving accessibility and serving remote communities.

In World Cup updates, on Monday the 6th, the two Iberian Peninsula countries went head to head, and Spain reached the twenty twenty-six World Cup quarter-finals with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Portugal, thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Mikel Merino.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who confirmed this would be his final World Cup, couldn't inspire his side and left the pitch in tears after the defeat, while Roberto Martínez, Portuguese head coach, resigned, saying that failing to win the World Cup made it the right time to step aside.

Spain will now face the Belgium national football team in the quarter-finals on Friday the 10th.

For our opinion piece this week, New York Times writer Laia Cervelló Herrero examines why some football fans in Catalunya, particularly supporters of FC Barcelona, don't support Spain's national team, despite many of its players coming from Catalunya.

She argues that centuries of political and cultural tension continue to shape how some Catalans view the national team. Through interviews with fans, academics and podcast host Manel Vidal, Herrero shows how some supporters see Spain's football success as reinforcing a national identity that doesn't reflect their own. As a result, some choose to support other teams, including the Argentina national football team.

For anyone living in or visiting Catalunya, the article offers useful context for understanding why football often sparks conversations about identity, language and politics, not just sport. Herrero also points out that many Catalans proudly support Spain, but for others, football remains closely tied to Catalan identity.

You can read the full article in the show notes.

And finally, Spain is reportedly moving to reduce its reliance on the American data company Palantir.

According to reports on social media, the government has told state-backed companies not to sign new contracts with the firm for sensitive projects involving national security or critical infrastructure. The move follows a similar decision in France and reflects a wider European push to keep sensitive government data under European control, rather than relying on US technology companies.

Palantir's software helps governments analyze large amounts of data for tasks such as intelligence, policing and fraud detection, but it has also faced criticism over privacy and surveillance concerns.

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Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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¡Hasta la próxima!