Tariffs plunge Spain's US exports to lowest level in ten years

Spanish products have suffered the blow of the tariff war initiated by Donald Trump upon his return to the White House in 2025. Despite the fact that exports as a whole increased slightly compared to the data for 2024 (up 0.7% to 387 billion euros), sales of goods to the US fell to their lowest level since 2014.

According to data published by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, exports to the US fell by 8% compared to 2024, with a total of 16.72 billion euros, compared to 18.2 billion. In contrast, Spain's purchases from the US shot up by 7% to nearly 30.2 billion euros, widening the gap between exports and imports (the so-called trade deficit) to 13.5 billion euros.

The products most in demand by Americans are olive oil and wine, which together account for 1.3 billion euros in exports. However, tariffs on both products have increased prices for consumers. In 2025, their sales fell by 27.7% and 14%, respectively.

Specifically, olive oil exports fell to 732 million euros from one billion a year earlier, according to Datacomex. Meanwhile, wine sales dropped from 335 million in 2024 to 288.3 million in 2025.

To offset the decline in sales to the US, Spain increased exports to third markets such as Africa (6% more than in 2024) and Asia (3% more), as well as to the EU (5% more).

Spanish exports have grown in countries with which the EU has free-trade agreements, such as India (2% more, although the positive impact will be more noticeable in 2026), the UK (4.5%), Canada (2%), Turkey (8%), Chile (11%), South Korea (9%) and Vietnam (20%).

Another sector that suffered a blow last year, at a global level this time, was the automobile industry, with a 7.1% drop. Its contribution to the total of exported goods fell from 13.8% in 2024 to 12.8% in 2025. Both car and component sales dropped, by 6% and 10% respectively.