Jordi Hereu: "To ensure Europe's strategic autonomy, I must relocate production."

BarcelonaJordi Hereu (Barcelona, ​​1965) has been the Minister of Industry and Tourism since 2023, in a legislature marked by an unstable and volatile geopolitics that affects the day-to-day operations of factories and the tourism sector. Now, the focus is on the war in the Middle East following the US and Israeli attack on Iran, which has caused an immediate increase in oil and gas prices. He is also a former mayor of Barcelona who keeps the city and Catalonia very much in mind, especially during recent crises such as the commuter rail and freight crises, recalling his first job at the Port of Barcelona when the Logistics Activity Zone (ZAL) was just getting started.

How do you think the war in the Middle East will impact the Spanish economy?

— This is a war with far-reaching global consequences. From an economic standpoint, it's clear that everyone is seeing that its outcome will depend on a variable beyond our control: its duration. Obviously, we are monitoring the impact on oil and gas prices across various sectors on a daily basis. If it lasts for an extended period, it will alter competitiveness factors, but, generally speaking, the Spanish economy has more diversified energy sources, demonstrating that the commitment to renewables is also linked to resilience. For now, we are monitoring the situation, and if it continues, we will need to fully develop contingency plans and support measures for sectors that may face difficulties.

Which sectors are the most vulnerable?

— The entire energy-intensive industry: those with heavy use of steel or copper, and then those with many chemical processes. If all this continues, there will be a reconfiguration of supply chains. We experienced this after the pandemic. Sectors like automotive can be affected because it's a highly globalized industry. But, at the moment, these effects haven't reached us dramatically, and we must observe how things develop. In this context, having renewables provides greater energy sovereignty, while for other European countries, gas is much more important.

What contingency plans do they have in place?

— Since President Trump's "Release Day" in April 2025, Spain was the first country to have a plan in place, deploying our resources, both financial and in terms of export support. We must stand with the industrial and economic sectors to help those who are struggling the most. That is why both the Ministry of Industry and Tourism and the Ministry of Economy, which manages the financial instruments, are closely monitoring the situation.

Do you detect any concern about Spanish policy regarding this war and Trump?

— President Sánchez and the Spanish government are expressing a very clear commitment to the European project and to the principles we must now defend: the principles of international law, which provide us with rules of the game for resolving differences in the world. President Sánchez is leading the defense of a project that, among other things, offers predictability at the economic level. I must also say that we have to wait for action because the rhetoric is increasingly extensive and sometimes contradictory. For example, in trade policy, we need to see what decisions are made, because, as Europe has repeatedly pointed out, trade policy is led by the European Union and is not solely a matter for Spain. Therefore, when someone expresses a desire to strengthen, tighten, or boycott trade relations with our country, they must also consult with the European Union.

Are you afraid the reprisals are due to investments?

— Please allow me to refrain from speculating about what might happen. I must say, and I want to reiterate, that we believe in multilateralism. We are a country that wants to engage with everyone because we believe in win-win relationships, and in this overall strategy, I include the United States. We have a long-standing trade and direct investment relationship in both directions. We want to preserve it. It won't be for lack of trying on Spain's part. This relationship with the United States is very important, but so are our relationships with the rest of the world, with Canada and Mexico, with Latin America. We welcome the European Union's trade agreement with India, and of course, we also have a constructive relationship with China.

Is geopolitics leading Europe to a greater understanding with China?

— One of the clearly established theses is that of defining Europe's open strategic autonomy. As Minister of Industry, this leads me to consider relocating production. After decades in which it was largely irrelevant where production could be relocated, one of the major lessons following the 2008 crisis, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine is that we must gain greater open strategic autonomy. This includes China, with which we have a collaborative relationship, as we do with other countries, because the presence of multinational corporations in the Spanish industrial fabric has been significant over the last 100 years.

This autonomy depends on growth in the defense industry. Is Spain's strategy based on a single leading company? Would that be Indra?

— No. We have reached 2% of GDP in defense and security spending, thereby fulfilling our international commitments to the European Union and NATO. Therefore, the emphasis should be on the fact that this is yet another reason to strengthen our industrial base. The goal is to maximize industrial returns, and this relies on a clear set of four, five, or six major driving forces that have the responsibility of transferring technology and generating new ecosystems in new regions. This isn't based on just one company. Indra is part of a group, which has a significant responsibility, but, like all the other major driving forces, it must also drive our training of young people and innovation.

And will there be investments in Catalonia?

— Historically, it was on the sidelines of this dynamic, but now it's clearly involved. It's somewhat paradoxical that Spain's main industrial region was once so far removed from this sector. This is changing radically because many companies are undertaking projects in Catalonia.

In this context of reindustrialization, as a minister and as a Catalan, how do you feel when you see how the commuter rail system works and the impact it has on goods?

— The commuter rail system has shown some clear weaknesses, and I want to state very clearly that things are being put in place. An unprecedented investment process is underway. Furthermore, another agreement has been reached—not about money, but about local governance, which I consider very important. The groundwork has been laid for this to begin a strategic shift, and this is coming from a former mayor who, back in 2010, signed an agreement to improve the commuter rail system because it is fundamental for territorial equity and mobility in the metropolitan area and region.

So, they're saying "this time for sure"...

— People have every right to be skeptical, but the important thing is that we all recognize that this effort is being made; it must be continued, and we've already been at it for two or three years, and it's consistent. We're paying the lowest investment for many years, and with the same conviction, we should put up a sign saying, "We apologize for the inconvenience, we're working for you, and we're really doing it." This is what's being done now.

The industry bill entered Congress in 2024. Do you expect it to pass, or is it a lost cause?

— This is a law intended to benefit not just one government, but the entire country, and to last for decades. It has the industry's blessing. Furthermore, it perfectly addresses governance because it deeply respects the regional framework. I would like the political world to rise to the challenge and meet the needs of the industry. All of us Catalan political forces have the opportunity to promote a law that is a powerful tool for the industry. I hope we can present it. What I wouldn't want is for a carefully crafted text to be lost due to other political dynamics.

Is he talking?

— We're talking about it. A Catalan business leader told me, on another matter, that they liked the text, but it wasn't a question of the text itself, but rather of the context. So we need to find that context, a window of opportunity to begin the discussion.

I ask him about tourism. Has it peaked?

— No, I always say it depends on what we do or don't do. Spain is a leader in tourism. Last year we received 97 million tourists, but I'm much more interested in the economic impact of this activity, which was an injection of 134 billion euros. More people can come, but it depends on what you do. We're working to decentralize destinations and diversify the product and the experience to generate greater added value. We have the country's resources, but you have to create products around them. It's also necessary to reduce seasonality. I think that in the summer, many places have already reached a technical limit, and now there's much more growth in months like March, April, October, and November. If you work on this, you can continue to grow.

Productivity per hour worked in Spain is lower than in Germany and other European countries. Won't we fix this?

— We're on the right track. We must create more productive industrial sectors with higher added value. And, furthermore, investing in the digitalization of production processes means increasing productivity; making energy transitions means being more productive.

Some sectors are more valuable than others.

— Why do I defend industry so strongly? Because I know that investing in industry means more added value, better wages, more innovation, more exports. Therefore, greater social quality. I am now, as we all are, on a pro-European offensive. At the end of the day, what we have is Europe. I believe that Spain, and our president and the government we represent, are at the forefront of the defense of a certain European humanism. For this defense, I always say that it falls to some of us, at the factory level, to work on the material base. Because we believe in Europe, we must reindustrialize to defend this pro-European project. Because we have people ahead of us who want to weaken it. If we want to have, not only soft power, but hard powerWe need to reindustrialize.