Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 19, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
Add as preferred source on Google
U.S. companies in Spain urge Trump to consider trade deficit in tariff decisions, highlighting Spain's unique import-export balance with the U.S.
MADRID (Reuters) - A group of U.S. companies present in Spain asked the administration of President Donald Trump to take into account the country's trade deficit with the United States when setting new tariffs on its goods.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Spain (AmChamSpain) said on Wednesday it had sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, stressing that Spain imports more from the U.S. than it exports there, unlike the European Union as a whole.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Trump said he was considering setting reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose import duties on U.S. products. The European Commision responded that it charges some of the world's lowest tariffs and sees no justification for an increase of tariffs on its exports.
Last year, Spain exported 18.1 billion euros ($19 billion) in products such as petrochemicals or food products such as olive oil, wine and oranges to the United States, and imported 28.1 billion euros worth of products from it, official data show.
KEY QUOTES
"AmChamSpain urges the U.S. administration to consider this different reality when establishing new tariffs," it said in a statement. "We thus ask that, if country-specific measures were applied, the European Union take this situation into account when defining its own trade response.
"We call for dialogue and the search for consensual solutions that avoid trade retaliation and reduce uncertainty for companies and workers on both sides of the Atlantic."
($1=0.9578 euros)
(Reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Inti Landauro and Clarence Fernandez)
The main topic is U.S. companies in Spain urging President Trump to consider Spain's trade deficit with the U.S. when setting tariffs.
Spain imports more from the U.S. than it exports, unlike the EU as a whole, which could influence tariff decisions.
AmChamSpain represents U.S. companies in Spain and has communicated concerns to the U.S. Commerce Secretary.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
