Tuesday, 19 August 2025, 14:12
Official statistics are beginning to reflect the consequences of the trade war and the tariff policy decreed by Donald Trump on the rest of the world. The data contained in Spain’s monthly foreign trade report published on Monday by the ministry of economy and trade in Madrid reveal that Spanish exports to the United States plummeted by 5.1% in the first half of the year. In June alone, when the tariffs imposed were already at 10%, export sales fell by 6.5% compared to the same month last year.
One of the Spanish products most affected by these US tariffs is olive oil, the best-selling Spanish food item in the US. Official data obtained from Datacomex shows that exports of this product plummeted by 25.8% between January and June to 438.6 million euros. In June alone, exports of this product shot down by 44% compared to the same month last year, totalling only 58.9 million euros. That is way below the 103 million euros in revenue in June 2024, according to ministry statistics.
The automotive industry, which has been subjected to a 25% tariff since January across the EU, has seen its sales fall by 9% in Spain. Exports to the United States have fared worse, with a 16.7% drop in the first half of this year, particularly affecting the components industry, where Spain is one of the world’s leading producers.
A bilateral hit
In total, Spain’s exports to the US amounted to 8.75 billion euros between January and June, 5.1% less than the same period in 2024, while imports increased by 10% in the same period, to over 15.8 billion euros. This mismatch between imports and exports means that Spain’s trade deficit with the US increased by 37% in the first six months of the year to 7.08 billion euros, according to trade ministry data.
Despite all this uncertainty and the conflict over tariffs, exports from Spain as a whole are at record levels. In the first half of the year they reached 197.15 billion euros, 1% more than in 2024. Spain’s ‘exporters’ club’ (a trade association for companies interested in exporting or investing overseas) points to the significant increase in imports from Asia (11% more than last year), especially from China, with a 16.4% increase in purchases that is not fully offset by sales to the Asian giant, which also increased by 13.7%. Despite all this, Europe continues to be the main buyer of Spanish goods, accounting for 74% of exports, a percentage that remains stable year after year.
The association also highlights that 66% of exports are made by just 1,000 Spanish companies, which means that foreign trade is “especially vulnerable” to uncertainty and international fluctuations. Moreover, the number of regular exporters remains at 43,000, an “insufficient” figure considering that Spain has more than three million companies and self-employed workers.
EU sales to the US fall by 10%
Although the eurozone increased its sales volume to the rest of the world in this period compared to last year by 4% to 1.49 trillion euros, the relationship with the United States is beginning to change. While in the first three months of the year the volume of exports continued to register a good pace despite the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House – probably due to the push for companies to bring forward their purchases in anticipation of tariffs looming on the horizon – the latest data for June reflects that this was merely a mirage. In the sixth month of this year, sales from the European Union to the United States plummeted by 10.3% to 40.17 billion euros, according to data published on Monday by Eurostat (the European Commission’s statistical office).
In contrast, imports soared 16% to 30.6 billion euros, causing the trade balance with the US to deteriorate by 50%, according to Eurostat data. In fact, for the first time, the United States is no longer the country with the largest trade deficit with the EU giving way to the United Kingdom because of the tariff war. This conflict also impacts on the increase in imports from Asia, especially China, resulting in the largest gap in the trade balance with the Asian giant. The EU’s trade deficit with China shot up 45% to 29.5 billion euros in the first half of the year, followed way behind by India, with 1.8 billion euros.
Exports to the United States fell in June, even though the pact between Trump and Ursula von der Leyen was yet to be signed, the pact whereby sales of all EU products will be taxed at 15% from now on. So, everything suggests that exports will continue to decline now that products will begin to increase in price upon entering the United States. Furthermore, Trump’s threats continue. Last week he turned his attention to the semiconductor and microchip sector and announced that, in the next few days, he would impose tariffs on this industry and the steel industry, with the aim of getting companies to start manufacturing in his country. Although he did not specify what tariff he would apply, he hinted that it could reach “300%”. Apple has already announced that it will invest 100 billion dollars in its North American market to begin this domestic manufacturing process.
With regard to steel, Trump did not specify by what percentage he plans to raise the tariff, but the industry is already on the ropes after the US president increased the tariff on these materials to 25% in February, which he subsequently doubled to 50% in May.