MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain eyes Latin America and Mercosur for its new international economy strategy

Sánchez hopes that when Spain presides over the European Union (EU), in the second half of 2023, the EU-Mercosur Agreement can be finally closed

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez Wednesday said his country intends to have a greater presence in Latin American markets and for that it is willing to invest more than 4,5 billion euros (almost US $ 5,5 billion).

“We have to open other markets, we have to be more present in other markets,” Sánchez said.

Spain is focused on making Latin America a prime target of its new plan to internationalize the country's economy. For Sánchez, it is time to be more present in markets such as Latin America, Asia or the United States and that the Spanish foreign sector faces pending challenges, which involve exporting goods with greater added value and technological content.

Sánchez made these remarks upon launching this project Wednesday in Madrid.

The Prime Minister is to visit Argentina and Costa Rica between June 8 and 11, to give testimony of Spain's commitment to the Latin American region and of the “excellent” bilateral trade relations.

In a recent official visit to Madrid by the Argentine president, Alberto Fernández, the head of the Spanish government has already advanced that this plan places Latin America, particularly countries like Argentina, among its priority objectives in foreign trade.
Sánchez also highlighted Wednesday that Spain works in favor of free trade agreements with the region and trusted that when the country presides over the European Union (EU), in the second half of 2023, EU-Mercosur Agreement can be finally closed, although he hoped it could be “sooner”.

“Spain is working tirelessly so that we can achieve this renewal of the agreement,” he stressed about something that he considered of “great importance for everyone”, both on the European side and the South American countries that make up Mercosur.

The presentation of this commercial action program abroad also coincided with a conversation that Pedro Sánchez and Chinese President Xi Jinping had Wednesday, in which they pledged to continue strengthening their economic relations.

The “Action Plan for the Internationalization of the Spanish Economy 2021-22”, recently approved by the Spanish government, is based on six guidelines to make Spain an increasingly open country “in the face of protectionist attitudes that translate into lack of solidarity and backwardness,” since the world can no longer“ be understood from a perspective other than that of multilateralism,” Sánchez maintained.

The main guidelines for the Spanish program are adapting to the needs of companies; incorporating innovation, technology, branding and digitization in Spanish foreign trade, taking advantage of business opportunities in the common commercial policy in the European Union and financial institutions and international organizations and promoting the capture and consolidation of foreign investment with high added value.

All this with the goal of continuing to broaden the base of Spanish exporting companies as well as favor the growth of national industries, whose small size limits their internationalization.

The plan is to be financed by funds from shock measures against the covid-19 pandemic, as well as European resources for economic recovery, intended to support the foreign expansion of SMEs to explore new markets, and of an increase in the financial instruments of state entities whose tasks include supporting the internationalization of companies.