U.S. president Donald Trump has apparently confused Spain for a member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, causing some head-scratching and jitters over possible tariffs in Madrid.

BRICS has emerged as a significant international force since 2009 when it was established at a summit in Russia. What began as a five-member group en

Donald Trump had a perfect opportunity to flaunt his purported “genius” brain and dealmaking prowess during a Monday press conference. And it didn’t go well.

After being sworn in as the 47th US President, Donald Trump met reporters in the Oval Office while signing executive orders where he made this erroneous claim.

President Donald Trump on Monday mistakenly identified Spain as a member of the BRICS bloc, a group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The comment caused confusion in Madrid and raised concerns about potential tariffs.

Newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump is already making waves in the news with his gaffes and this time it was directed at Spain.

At this pace, the newly inaugurated Republican president should be able to alienate just about every other country on the planet by, say, mid-summer.

After US President Donald Trump confused Spain with a member of the BRICS bloc, a spokesperson for the Spanish government responded, saying she was unsure why Trump made the comment. Trump erroneously said Spain was in BRICS when a journalist asked him on Monday about NATO countries like Spain which don't meet the NATO minimum of spending 2 percent of economic output on defense.

US President Trump mistakenly identified Spain as part of the BRICS nations, causing concerns about potential tariffs. While Spain is committed to NATO, Trump's error and tariff threats against BRICS led to political jitters in Madrid.

At present, Spain does not meet the minimum threshold of 2% of the national GDP recommended by the alliance, let alone the 5% demanded by Trump. It remains the lowest spender among the 32 NATO members, with just 1.28%.

Brics has emerged as a significant international force since 2009 when it was established at a summit in Russia. What began as a five-member group en

Spain is not in BRICS, whose initials stand for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Spain is a member of NATO, along with the U.S., and of the European Union. Trump erroneously said ...