During his speech at a joint meeting of the committees of Trade and Internationalization of the Chamber of Spain, López Senovilla He stressed that, although United States is the "main partner outside the European UnionFor Spain, it is crucial to act with "prudence and firmness" and monitor possible second-round effects in the global context.
To promote the export activity and productive investment, the secretary recalled the initial mobilization of 14.320 billion euros through the Trade Response and Relaunch Plan, designed to complement European actions and strengthen financial instruments to support businesses.
Regarding international expansion, Lopez Senovilla He stated that the path forward includes strengthening existing trade agreements. He highlighted that with the recent agreements with Mercosur, Mexico and Chile, "98% of the region is covered Latin America"Furthermore, he pointed to the ASEAN (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia) and India as "priority regions." Regarding China, the secretary described it as "a rival, but it can also be an ally," advocating for "advancing the opening of the Chinese market" and attracting its investment.
The Secretary of State for Trade has stated that the way forward is to strengthen free trade agreements, with Latin America and ASEAN as priority regions.
The figures support the strategy, as Spanish exports recorded their second-best year in 2024, with year-on-year growth of 2,7%. The degree of openness of the Spanish economy is "above 70%," with more than 44.000 regular exporters.
In the area of domestic trade, López Senovilla mentioned initiatives such as administrative simplification, the reduction of barriers, territorial harmonization with the 20 regime, digital labeling, and improved generational renewal.
For its part, Carlos Cabanas, Chair of the Commerce Committee of the Chamber of Spain, outlined the challenges facing retail trade, including the difficulty in finding qualified profiles, absenteeism, the potential imposition of shorter working hours, and excessive regulation. Eva Piera, Chair of the Internationalization Committee, highlighted the importance of promoting European strategic autonomy and continuing to work on consolidating the single european market.
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