More trade and less deficit: Catalonia records its best foreign balance of the year

BarcelonaDespite the trade war launched by Donald Trump a few months ago, the effects of the tariffs are yet to be determined. Catalonia, although not directly exposed to the US economy, accounting for 4.3% of its total exports, could be particularly impacted in its exports to the automotive, chemical, and food sectors. For the time being, the Principality maintains positive trade dynamics: from January to June, Catalonia increased its exports and, above all, its imports, which has led to an increase in the negative trade balance, i.e., the trade deficit, of 31.87% to €7,062.7 million.

However, according to the monthly foreign trade report published this Monday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, which contains provisional data, Catalonia recorded its best foreign trade balance of the year this June. While it already reduced its trade deficit in April—it has grown in other months—it did so because imports fell more than exports, and now, in the sixth month of the year, the trade deficit has narrowed by 4.89%, but because exports grew more than imports. This means that Catalan products are competitive abroad, while companies have money to invest in foreign goods and products.

In the cumulative period through June, Catalonia recorded increases in exports of the main sectors—chemical products, capital goods, and food, beverages, and tobacco—while chemical imports decreased and those of the other two categories also increased. The trade balance amounted to €2,786,020.2 million in chemical products, -€3,159 million in capital goods, and €180.5 million in food, beverages, and tobacco.

Spain: More trade, but a bigger deficit

In parallel, Spain's export-oriented economy has exhibited a similar pattern in the first half of this year: import growth outpacing exports and a larger trade deficit, in this case 58.7% higher than a year ago, reaching €25.112 billion. However, in Spain's case, this deficit also grew in June, driven by the non-energy sector, which accounted for more than 49% of the total deficit in the sixth month of the year.

The sectors with the largest surpluses were food, beverages and tobacco (€10,562.4 million), non-chemical semi-manufactured goods (€3,586.7 million), other goods (€3,141.2 million), and the automobile sector (€4 billion). On the other side of the trade balance were energy products (€16,337 million), capital goods (€13,663.9 million), consumer goods (€6,752.2 million), chemical products (€3,368.1 million), and durable consumer goods (€2,608.9 million).

Fewer Spanish exports to the United States

According to ministry data, Spanish exports to the United States in the first half of the year reached €8.75 billion, 5.1% less than in the same period in 2024, while imports grew 10.1%, to €15.83 billion. Thus, compared to the first six months of the previous year, the Spanish trade deficit with the United States grew by 37%. The United States is the sixth largest destination for Spanish exports, accounting for 4% of the total, a similar figure in Catalonia. This means that the expected effect of the trade war is a "certain negative impact" on the Spanish economy, according to Bank of Spain forecasts.

Economic relations with the European Union, with which Spain currently enjoys a trade surplus, saw a slight decline in exports (-0.2%) and a 4.5% increase in imports during the first half of the year, reducing this positive balance to €13.048 billion, 27.5% less than a year earlier. The largest surpluses recorded by the Spanish economy in these six months were those of France, with €9.993 billion; Portugal, with €8.392 billion; and the United Kingdom, with €7.617 billion.