Catalan exports to the US fell by almost 31% after the tariffs came into effect.

MadridThe entry into force of Donald Trump's new tariffs in the European Union is already being felt in Catalonia's sales in the United States. In August, Catalan exports to the United States fell 30.9% compared to the same period in August 2024, to €223.6 million, as published this Thursday by the Ministry of Economy through the DataComex platform. The White House's new tariff policy came into effect on August 7, following a trade agreement reached with Brussels, and involved the application of a 15% tariff on all European products shipped to the United States.

Imports from the United States also saw a significant year-on-year drop of 52.4%, to €240.5 million. The trend was the same in Spain, with a 30.5% drop in sales, also in August, and a 15.2% drop in imports. In fact, Spanish exports fell below €1 billion per month, placing the United States' share of Spanish foreign sales at 4% of the total. A month earlier, in July, the United States accounted for 4.5% of Spanish companies' total exports.

However, on a global scale, Catalonia's sales abroad also reflected the slowdown in international trade, rising a modest 0.2% to €6.448 billion. Across the country as a whole, global trade was also weak, with Spanish exports down 9.3% compared to August 2024. They fell in Europe (10.5%), but so did sales in Asia, India, and China, where the weight of Spanish exports is only one Asian country.

As for imports, in the case of Catalonia, they fell 0.2% globally, to €7.964 billion. Meanwhile, Spanish purchases abroad fell 4%. Thus, the trade balance for Spain last August was negative, at €6 billion, 25% more than in August 2024.