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Madrid – The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has asked the President of the United States, Donald Trump, on Friday to “reconsider”, dialogue with the European Commission and put an end to the “nonsense” of his trade war.
“The entry into force of the largest tariffs the United States has ever imposed on the European Union is expected, and today, from here, I would like to make a call once again to the U.S. Administration to reconsider, to dialogue with the European Commission, and to stop this nonsense,” said Sánchez.
The head of the Spanish Executive has warned that if the United States imposes tariffs on Europe, it “will defend itself” and respond “decisively”. “We will act quickly, with proportionality and with unity. I believe these are the three criteria of the response that we will give from the European perspective,” he added.
In this regard, he stressed that the Spanish Government “will be on the side” of its farmers and companies “and, ultimately, of its people, from the very first moment”.
Thus, Sánchez recalled that “since the first announcements or at least the first threats” from the United States, a National Contingency Plan is being drafted to help the sectors most affected by Trump’s tariffs.
The head of the Executive has insisted that “a trade war benefits no one,” but rather harms everyone, “especially the weakest”.
“We are going to respond in a coordinated manner with our European partners. Let us never forget that Europe is the world’s leading trading bloc and, therefore, we are a trading power. And as a trading power, we can respond to this nonsense being proposed, in this case, by the U.S. Administration,” the president emphasized.
“We know well where retreat and autarky lead. That’s why we chose to be a European project, an open political project and, therefore, prosperous and not closed and poor. Where others seek confrontation, we will continue to extend a hand to dialogue. Where others generate uncertainty, with the threats and announcements they are making, we provide certainty. And where some build walls, we forge new alliances,” added Sánchez.
At this point, the president of the Government highlighted the alliances that have been established with Mexico and Chile and the progress being made towards a trade agreement with India and the renewal of the existing one with Canada.
“In a few days, I will travel to China. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Spain-China Strategic Partnership. I will also travel to Vietnam, two strategic partners in Asia, to nurture new economic ties. And I will also hold a new round of contacts with our partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to try to strengthen the European Union-Mercosur agreement, which today seems more important than ever,” he concluded. (March 28)