Madrid- Spanish export companies face with resignation the entry into force of the new 15 % tariffs for the products of the European Union in the United States, a measure that, in Spain, especially threatens the agri-food, industrial, energy and chemical sectors.
The agreement, reached by the US president, Donald Trumpand the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der LeyenAt the end of July, it establishes that European products will be subjected to a 15 %tax, although some “strategic products” are excluded.
This pact could be on wet paper, after Trump has threatened on Tuesday with raising tariffs to 35 % if the community block does not invest the 600,000 million dollars that he agreed to inject the economy of the American country.
Thus, the US president maintains tariff pressure and causes an increase in uncertainty, a situation that directly affects exporting companies.
The president of the Exporters and Investor Club, Antonio Bonethas commented in statements to Efe that the agreement “could be better”, but has recognized that they are “relatively satisfied”, first because “avoids a commercial war” with “unpredictable and very bad consequences” for the European Union, Spain and the US.
In addition, it has remarked that the pact “reduces uncertainty very substantially”, although “not quite”, something key to companies, which “need to have relative certainty of the environment in which they are moving” – regulatory, tariff and economic – to be able to operate, plan the future and make investments.
Looking ahead, Bonet has said that the negotiations for the creation “of a transatlantic free trade zone” are expected to be resumed.
Exports will fall 10 %, according to the camera
The Chamber of Commerce, on the other hand, calculates that the entry into force of a generalized 15 % tariff could cause a 10.1 % drop in Spanish exports to that country, which in monetary terms would mean a reduction of 1,841 million euros per year.
However, the same sources clarify that uncertainty forces to establish more broad margins of the possible final impact, which could be at a reduction of between 7.2 % and 13.1 % (1,307.3 million less and 2,375.3 million less, respectively).
The direct impact “would be limited”, taking into account that the total sales to the US represented only 4.7 % of the total, the camera, which acknowledges that it could be “relevant” in the sectors with a greater exposure to the American market, such as team goods, semimanuffactures and some agri -food products.
Agrifood and Industrial, more affected sectors
Tariffs affect “unequally” the different sectors, depending on the type of product, the exported volume and the dependence of the US market, although “one of the most beaten” is the agri -food, according to a report prepared by the impulsa company, by Banco Santander.
The Spanish industrial sector also faces “important challenges” taking into account that “machinery, electrical components and team goods have been included in tariff lists.”
Regarding the energy sector, one of the most affected products is refined biodiesel, so “its profitability is complicated against American internal production, which has tax and environmental incentives that reinforce its competitiveness”.
The chemical sector has also been conditioned by the new restrictions, especially in the case of active pharmaceutical ingredients, vegetable -based cosmetics and technical fertilizers, which are already “beginning to experience stricter controls, both at the tariff and normative level.” (August 7)
The editorial responsibility for the publication lies with EFE.
