Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs would affect more than 400 Catalan companies.
The widespread imposition of 25% taxes could reduce Catalan GDP by up to 0.5 percentage points.
BarcelonaThe imposition of universal 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States will affect the sales of 427 Catalan companies in this market. This is the impact that the trade war initiated by Donald Trump will have on the Catalan manufacturing sector dedicated to these products, according to calculations by Acció, the Catalan government's business competitiveness agency.
![Alcoa aluminum plant in Szekesefehervar, Hungary.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 9"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
These companies' combined exports to the US amount to €278.8 million, representing 6.4% of total Catalan exports to this market. The tariffs, which go into effect this Wednesday, have been extended to manufactured goods containing steel or aluminum parts, such as household products, metal tools, machinery, electrical appliances, furniture, vehicle parts, and gym equipment, among others.
Among the main Catalan steel and aluminum products affected, by export volume to the United States, are construction components, vehicle body accessories, machine components, steel profiles, electrical panels and switchboards, and aluminum manufactured goods.
Impact on GDP
Last year, Catalan exports to the United States grew by 19.3% compared to the previous year, reaching €4.35 billion, equivalent to 4.3% of Catalonia's total foreign sales. The US market is the primary destination for Catalan products outside of Europe, where 3,161 Catalan companies regularly export. Over the past five years (2020-2024), since the COVID-19 pandemic, Catalan exports to the United States have accumulated growth of 79%.
According to a study by Acción, if the widespread imposition of 25% tariffs on all products from the European Union announced by Donald Trump were to materialize, this measure could reduce Catalan GDP by up to 0.5 percentage points.
Acció activated the service in January. Adapt to the new United States to help Catalan companies that export their products to this market mitigate the potential effects of the Trump administration's protectionist policies on their businesses.
