€4.35 billion: Catalan exports exposed by Trump's tariffs

Barcelona / Brussels / WashingtonThe tariff policy of Donald Trump's new administration, which threatens to trigger a global trade war, reaches its D-Day this Wednesday, the date on which a large portion of the tariffs are due to go into effect. Catalonia has 3,161 companies that regularly export €4.35 billion to the United States, according to data from Acció. Faced with this battery of tariffs, which must be finalized, the most exposed companies have two options to avoid the blow: diversify markets or establish themselves in the United States.

This is all we know so far about the impact the measure may have on Catalonia.

Steel and aluminum

Catalan companies exporting steel and aluminum products to the United States have been subject to tariffs of 25% since March 12. The measure affects 427 Catalan companies with a combined export value of €278.8 million. This is equivalent to 6.4% of total Catalan exports of these products.

The most affected, by export volume, are construction components, vehicle body accessories, machine components, steel profiles, electrical panels and switchboards, and aluminum products. Tariffs are applied based on the percentage of these materials in the exported product; therefore, pots and pans will not have to pay the same amount as aluminum window frames, as they do not contain the same proportion of the assessed materials. Each exporting company must now submit a document indicating the materials to customs, which will then calculate the tariffs that American companies and consumers will pay.

For example, the Catalan company Celsa, one of the largest steel companies in Europe, produces steel and exports a small portion to the United States in the form of construction materials for bridges, skyscrapers, and major infrastructure projects. Celsa's share of the total is below the average Spanish export volume to the United States, which stands at 3%, according to the steel industry association Unesid.

Automobiles and components

Trump's latest major announcement touched on a sensitive issue in the European industry: automobiles. These tariffs, which will be applied to cars not manufactured in the United States, will take effect this Thursday, April 3, and will be extended to components within a maximum period of one month. In Catalonia, a major impact on finished cars is not expected, given that the main manufacturer—Seat and Cupra—does not ship cars to the US market, but it could have second-round effects.

The Principality currently exports approximately €18 million in finished cars and €62 million in components to the US, and approximately 80 companies would be directly affected. However, one in four components produced in Catalonia is sent to Germany.where the sector is experiencing a complicated situation due to falling demand. There they are incorporated into vehicles that are exported to the United States, among other markets.

Agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, microchips and semiconductors

The Trump administration's declaration of a tariff war became a reality the day the reciprocal tariffs were announced, that is, to respond, according to the president himself, to "unfair or discriminatory" taxes such as the European VAT. This would include pharmaceutical products—the EU exports many—the chemical industry, machinery, the agri-food sector, and microchips and semiconductors.

"The United States Department of Commerce has analyzed the countries with which they have the largest trade deficit. They interpret this as an unfair situation," explains Cristina Serradell, director of the international business unit of Acció, the competitiveness agency of the Generalitat (Catalan Government). The objective is to reduce imports to reindustrialize the United States, and, initially, one way to offset this is by responding to existing tariffs. Spain, for example, has a trade deficit with the United States, but if these tariffs are applied on a product-by-product basis, there could be surpluses in some sectors.

"It also remains to be seen whether a widespread tariff will be applied; Trump cites as an example the EU's 10% tariff on cars, while the US's tariff is 2.5%, so he'll raise it to 10%," Serradell adds.

Wine and spirits from the EU

One of the sectors facing this D-Day with the greatest concern is the wine and cava industry. If Trump's threats are carried out, they will face 200% tariffs on their products, in retaliation for the European Union's plans to tax imports of American whiskey, also known as bourbon. "Will they have an effect? Obviously," said the president of the DO Cava, Javier Pagés, a few days ago..

The affected Catalan companies are 236 regular exporters, with imports valued at €77.5 million. The United States is the largest import market for these Catalan products, and at the same time, this sector represents 12.5% of total Catalan exports. "With a machine, if you increase the sale price by 25%, you have a large margin. On the other hand, if you increase a wine by 200%, the margin you have isn't as large," explains Serradell.

More tariffs for countries that export Venezuelan oil

The US administration must also implement 25% tariffs this Wednesday on all products and services from countries that purchase gas or oil from Venezuela. Spain is one of those countries, and it does so through Repsol, to which the United States Last Sunday they revoked the permit to export Venezuelan crude oil.

With these tariffs on countries exporting Venezuelan oil, all products that Catalonia sells in the United States will have tariffs of 25% from the start, to which the rates for the sectors that already had them would have to be added.

Twenty companies advised

The Generalitat (Catalan Government), through Acció, is monitoring these measures in real time to assess their impact and advise affected companies. "We are available to companies to inform them about how they may be affected. Since January, we have had a service to assess the degree of exposure and develop contingency plans," explains Serradell. His department is studying how companies can mitigate the impact of these measures, whether by diversifying markets or establishing themselves in the United States. So far, they have advised around twenty companies in the textile and machinery sectors.

The European Union's response

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned Donald Trump that the European Union is prepared to use all available tools to respond to the tariff war, although she maintains her offer to the United States to negotiate until the last minute. In fact, Brussels has postponed the entry into force of part of the tariffs it intends to apply to US products to give itself more time to close an agreement with the White House and avoid an escalation in the trade war.

Trump's Chaos

If any one element has defined Trump's trade war, it's chaos and volatility. The president has said and unsaid so many times about how he will implement reciprocal tariffs that it's difficult to predict what he will sign this Wednesday at the White House beyond the already approved tariffs. After saying he would apply 25% tariffs on EU products "across the board," he assured from Air Force One on Sunday that the rates would be more generous than those applied by the US's trading partners.

In an interview on the news network On Fox Business, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also suggested that the "liberation day" tariffs could be lower than originally proposed. This statement preceded one Trump made last Friday. When asked by reporters if he intended to implement any exceptions for vital medicines, the president replied, "Well, we'll be announcing that shortly. But we've got to get pharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals into our country." Exceptions or breaks to reciprocal tariffs would not be surprising, following the two postponements of the 25% tariffs for Mexico and Canada, or the month-long grace period granted to vehicles imported under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The constantly shifting narrative adds uncertainty to the announcement, which is expected to come this Wednesday at a White House event called Make America wealthy again [Make America Rich Again]. The tariffs were initially expected to take effect after midnight on Wednesday (as they have always been), but on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced that they would take effect "immediately" after Trump signs them.

Impact on the American economy

"Liberation Day" also marks the end of the month-long grace period for the 25% tariffs on vehicles imported from Canada and Mexico that Trump granted to major US automakers. It also marks the end of the trade truce with Mexico and Canada, which threatens to raise the price of fresh produce in US supermarkets.

Much of the fresh produce Americans consume, such as avocados, strawberries, and tomatoes, comes from Mexico. In 2023, nearly three-quarters of US agricultural imports from Mexico were vegetables, fruits, beverages, and distilled spirits, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Many of those who voted for Trump did so hoping he would lower the cost of their grocery shopping, but now they will face a different scenario unless the president postpones these tariffs for a third time.

Canada has already launched an aggressive campaign warning of retaliation for the tariffs starting April 2. "The Prime Minister informed the President that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy following the announcement of new U.S. trade measures on April 2, 2025," the Prime Minister's Office said in a press release Saturday.

On the streets of Washington these days, bus shelters paid for by the Canadian government could be seen reading: "Tariffs are a tax on the American working class." Trump, who won the election on the promise of lowering the cost of living, is only two months into his term and has already raised the possibility of an economic recession in the country.