What is Catalonia playing for in the new trade clash between Spain and the USA?
Different experts are cautious about the threat of cutting trade because it would mean defying all of Europe
MadridWithin the framework of a new clash between Donald Trump and the Spanish government at the NATO summit, marked by the war against Iran and American demands regarding military spending, the President of the U.S. has ordered to cut "immediately" trade and bilateral relations with the Spanish state, as he had previously threatened.
Beyond the real impact this decision may have - trade regulation with the U.S. depends on the EU -, the economic relationship between Spain and Catalonia and the United States is relevant in both the commercial and investment spheres. So, what is really at stake?
Exports and imports
In the case of sales and purchases, the North American market is not among the most significant when compared to other regions. For example, the United States accounts for only 4.3% of Spanish exports. In monetary terms, in the year 2025, Spanish sales reached 16,716 million euros, an 8% decrease compared to 2024. A decline resulting from the tariff policy and the uncertainty generated, precisely, by the new administration of Donald Trump. Imports of goods and services from the U.S. amounted to 30,174 million, a 7% increase, leaving a trade deficit of 13,458 million euros.
Now, it is also true that exports to the US are highly marked by territoriality, so the impact does not affect all communities in the same way. Catalonia is, in fact, one of the most sensitive regions to the United States, even though it is its fifth market and lags far behind Germany or France. Specifically, 25.2% of Spain's exports to the United States in 2025 were Catalan (4,205 million euros), and 17.5% of imports from the US to Spain are carried out by Catalan companies (5,034 million), according to data from Acció consulted by ARA.
At the same time, there are specific products that depend heavily on the North American market. In the Catalan case, these are mainly pharmaceuticals, machinery, and perfumes and cosmetics, but also food products like wine. When looking at the State as a whole, olive oil is added to the list.
As for imports, the bulk falls on energy products. In this regard, the United States was Spain's second-largest supplier of natural gas, only behind Algeria: between January and December 2025, 30% of the gas that arrived in Spain (111,660 GWh) came from the US in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). But not all of it is for its own consumption, as Spain then re-exports it to other countries, to the point of becoming an entry point for North American natural gas for other European partners. Overall, it represents almost double the natural gas from the US received in 2024 (56,435 GWh from January to December). This is one of Spain's weaknesses, but also Europe's.
The weight of investment
The other pillar of the commercial relationship haystack –if not the most important– is investment. The United States is the main destination for Spanish investment, with an investment stock of more than 91,000 million euros in 2025. They are also the main investor in the State (last year, the stock was 117,127 million euros). "The two countries need each other," indicated Marta Blanco, president of CEOE Internacional, in a conversation with ARA.
North American regulation and the investment boom due to the rise in public tenders in strategic sectors such as infrastructure or energy have pushed large listed companies like Banco Santander, Iberdrola, Ferrovial or ACS to continue growing in the North American market, where they have found an ally in Donald Trump. The Spanish company sees in Trump's America first (having its own industry in artificial intelligence or medicines) a business opportunity.
What can Trump do?
Awaiting the progress of Trump's new attack on Spain, previous threats have amounted to nothing. For instance, at the NATO summit a year ago in The Hague, the North American leader had already stated he would raise tariffs on Spanish products, which did not happen.
Applying tariffs solely to Spain clashes with a "barrier," as explained a few months ago in ARA by the economics professor and EsadeGeo researcher, Omar Rachedi, which is non-discrimination and governs the legislation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This rule states that higher tariffs cannot be applied to one member if the product it sells is similar to those from other countries – in fact, the tariff is applied to the product. Furthermore, a legal cause must be argued, such as anti-dumping law.
Another avenue Trump could explore is the application of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which would allow him, after declaring an "unusual and extraordinary external threat," to restrict or block economic transactions of a country, in this case, Spain. This could range from freezing assets under North American jurisdiction to prohibiting payments or imposing sanctions, among other reprisals. "It would be extraordinary to do so in Spain given the legal-political umbrella to justify such an emergency on an ally," says Rachedi.
However, attacking only Spain is "difficult to sustain", according to the researcher, because the regulatory core of many areas is in Brussels. A view shared by the UOC professor, Carles Méndez: "Spanish commercial policy is a European competence, [...] all of this would lead to a transatlantic trade war," he stated in March in statements to the ACN.
Some Spanish companies with strong interests in the U.S. did not hesitate then to react to Trump's threats: "I am sure that relations will be excellent again soon," said the president of Banco Santander, Ana Botín, in an interview with Bloomberg. The financial institution not only has a large part of its business in the United States, but had just reached an agreement to buy an American bank. Also at that time, the Spanish cooperative Dcoop, the world's leading producer of olive oil and highly exposed to the country, decided to suspend the purchase of 100% of the American company Pompeian, of which it already controls 50%.
In fact, Méndez believes that Washington's hostility could indeed shake investments, including those from the United States in Spain. He gives the example of the bilateral agreement between Boeing and Vueling, here in Catalonia, which involves the massive purchase of Boeing 737 aircraft, or the recent multi-million euro investment by Amazon announced within the framework of the MWC.