Trump declared that Spain is part of BRICS, the Spanish government reacts

Donald Trump left government officials in Madrid confused after he mistakenly said Spain was a BRICS member state and threatened them with tariffs.

BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, writes skynews.

Meanwhile, Spain is a member of NATO – along with the US.

Read too Trump calls Spain "a BRICS country"

Trump made this gaffe when asked by a reporter about NATO countries "like Spain," which do not meet the minimum spending of 2 percent of economic output on defense.

The American leader said that Spain's defense spending was "very low," then immediately moved on to BRICS.

"They are a BRICS country, Spain. Do you know what a BRICS country is? You will understand," he told reporters in the Oval Office, before saying he would punish countries from the bloc economically.

"We will impose at least a 100 percent tariff on the business they do with the United States," he said.

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In response, Spanish government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria said she was not sure why the US president made this comment.

"I don't know if the statement made by President Trump was the result of a mix-up or not, but I can confirm that Spain is not part of BRICS," Alegria said. /Telegraph/