Spain has prepared for an escalating trade war with the US, and its strong relationship with other European nations can help insulate it from possible economic pain, said Carlos Cuerpo, the country’s minister of economy, trade, and business, at Semafor’s World Economy Summit on Wednesday.
“Spain is actually the only major economy that had its [growth] forecast revised upwards yesterday,” Cuerpo told Semafor’s Alexis Akwagyiram, referring to the International Monetary Fund’s economic projections released this week.
A reason for optimism, Cuerpo said, is that Spain isn’t alone in any trade battle. “One of the benefits of the current situation is that Europe is really rallying around the unified approach,” he said, pointing to the combined economic strength of the European market, too. The European Union boasts 450 million consumers, he added, giving it leverage if it acts as a bloc.