Spain sees it feasible to reach a fair and beneficial tariff agreement with the U.S

Washington (EFE).- The Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, stated after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that he sees a feasible tariff agreement with the U.S. that is fair and mutually beneficial and that includes the entire set of imposed duties.

“We are convinced that, with the European Commissioner (Maros) Sefcovic leading this negotiation, we will be able to reach an agreement that is balanced, fair, and beneficial for both parties,” he told the press at the end of his various meetings in the U.S. capital.

Cuerpo met in Washington with U.S. companies, with the President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, and finally with Bessent, with whom he said he had a “very useful conversation about all aspects of international economics.”

“Open door to negotiation”

The Spanish minister pointed out that the Treasury Secretary conveyed to him that the United States wants to reach an agreement with its main trading partners, which in his opinion “confirms that open door to negotiation that was opened last week with the 90-day moratorium.”

Trump’s moratorium

Last Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump reversed the “reciprocal” tariffs he announced days earlier and reduced his offensive, leaving a generalized tariff of 10% for most countries and regions, including the EU, during that three-month period.

Brussels then froze the application of some duties that were in turn a response to the 25% tariffs that Washington previously imposed on steel and aluminum and insisted that it is willing to negotiate a “zero-for-zero tariffs” agreement for industrial products.

“The moratorium (from the U.S.) only applies to part of the total tariffs, and for us, a balanced solution must take into account the whole, including those on steel, aluminum, and automobiles, or that 10% that is applied generally. And that has to be the starting point,” said Cuerpo.

The representative of the Spanish government said that in his meeting with Bessent there was a “frank and open” tone. The latter had criticized that the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that perhaps Spain should approach China in light of the protectionism of the Trump Administration. “It would be like cutting your own throat,” he warned.

“The agenda we have from the European Union with China in recent years is a clear agenda, where China, of course, we are aware that it is a rival, a competitor in many areas, but it also has to be a strategic partner. We need to reach agreements that benefit both areas, both China and the European Union. There is ample room,” said Cuerpo.

Spain’s approach to China

The minister thus defended the approach to China and pointed out that Spain is “supporting without any doubt the actions of the Commission.”

The support for the European Union to present a united front, he added, is what allows for “greater negotiating capacity” and reaching a balanced result, “not only for the Union as a whole but for all the countries.”

In his opinion, the meeting with Bessent was a “very good” first contact with the U.S. “to continue maintaining relations from now on.”

Among the U.S. companies he met with in the morning were firms from the pharmaceutical, financial, or medical products sectors “that are betting very strongly on the Spanish economy” and whose names he did not want to specify.

Cuerpo said he discussed with Bessent the impact of the tariff measures. “They have a vision, as he himself has also pointed out publicly, that this is, let’s say, a transitory element and that by the end of the year this situation could revert positively,” he concluded. (April 16)