SPAIN'S export sector is becoming worried about US president Donald Trump's protectionist policies, fearing it could cost them trade.
Franchises and concessions are less affected, since they are deeply-rooted into the business fabric in the United States, but other industries, such as that of renewable energy, foresee problems ahead – especially given the president's approach to environmental issues.
The USA is Spain's main non-European trading partner and sixth-largest export destination, behind France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Portugal, and the North American country accounts for over €10 billion of Spanish companies' overseas trade.
Most goods the USA imports from Spain are food and drink items, renewable energy, motor parts and vehicles, and other semi-manuifactured produce.
But the Spanish government remains optimistic about how future trade relations with the united States may pan out: economy minister Luis de Guindos is confident that the European Union could even benefit from an increase in protectionism across the pond, since the old continent would be able to attract investments from countries which cease or reduce trading with America.
As the international director of Spain's Chamber of Commerce, Alfredo Bonet, says, investors and importers seek stability in their trade partners and, if the USA puts up too many obstacles, the EU bloc could be seen as a viable alternative.
Bonet, however, says Spain and Europe will have to wait to find out 'how Trump's words will translate into reality', since any threat to or reduction in cross-border trading may be a concern but 'not just anything is possible' due to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules which limit increases in customs duty to its members.
According to analysts Credit & Caution, the measures currently adopted by Trump may well mean increasing barriers to international trade but that, in Spain's case, the USA is only a small part of its story.
Improved relations between the USA and Russia means the food sector in particular may be able to increase its sales in the latter, the consultancy says.
Spanish exports to the USA were down by 2.3% in 2016 to amost €10.3bn, whilst imports from the North American nation were down 1.7%, to just over €11.6bn, leaving Spain with a trade deficit to the USA of €1.36bn.
Among the most-sold products to the USA by Spain are refined petroleum, human and animal blood for medical use such as vaccinations, and cars and car engines.
Last year alone, Spain exported nearly 38,300 cars to the USA, which is the second-largest market for the southern European country for vehicle parts, meaning the motor industry is waiting expectantly and apprehensively to see what happens next.
Spain's Motor Parts Manufacturers' Association (SERNAUTO) says the free trade deal across North America – the USA, Canada and México – is crucial to their export industry, although Trump has already declared that this agreement will soon go the same way as the Trans-Pacific Pact (TPP), which the Republican president has withdrawn the country from.
Food and drink produce from Spain sold in the USA is led by the wine industry, particularly cava and other sparkling wine, and those with official declarations of origin or DO.
Although a small market slice, Spanish wine still accounts for €275.4 million spent annually by the United States.
The Spanish Wine Federation reveals, however, that unlike France which mostly sells the produce unlabelled as cheap table or cooking wine, in the USA this beverage from Spain occupies a slot on the 'quality' shelves, meaning it is a market easier to expand than if it was merely trying to compete on price.
France was, until 2016, Spain's third-largest wine export destination, but the USA overtook the neighbouring nation last year in its expenditure on top-notch Spanish drinks, and buys the ninth-most in the world in terms of quantity – 84 million litres, the equivalent of 112 million bottles.
The difference in profit versus quantity is explaned by the fact that the average sum paid for Spanish wine at cost price is a mere €1.05 a litre, or €0.79 a bottle, to most of its other export destinations, whilst in the USA, the price at source is an average of €3.42 a litre, or €2.57 a bottle.
Spain exports €269m in olive oil to the USA and this is a market which the Association of Olive Oil Export Trade and Industry (ASOLIVA) believes has great capacity to grow, since the United States consumes around 330,000 tonnes of oil per year but only produces 6,000 tonnes, nearly all of which comes from California.
The United States is Spain's fifth-largest supplier after Germany, France, China and Italy, mainly selling medicines – a commodity which increased by 43.4% in 2015 in terms of sales to Spain from across the Atlantic.
As for direct investment, latest Chamber of Commerce data reveal that the USA is number one in Spain, accounting for 15.1% of foreign funds, and the third-largest destination for Spain with 13% of the country's overseas investments going to the United States.
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