Samantha Mythen
IT was a ‘frank’ conversation between Spain’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise Carols Cuerpo and the US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, when they met in Washington on Tuesday.
The US Treasury Secretary took a ‘harsh’ stance towards Spain, while the Spanish administration viewed the collateral meeting in a more favourable light.
Secretary Bessent emphasised Spain’s need to increase its defence spending via NATO, despite having no jurisdiction in this area. He also highlighted the US opposition to the European country’s Google tax, digital services tax and other non-trade barriers.
The Trump administration produced a voluminous 397-page report in February, identifying foreign trade barriers between the US and other nations.
READ MORE: Spain’s Economy Minister meets US counterpart: Cuerpo ‘convinced’ trade deal can be thrashed out
In this report, Spain was cited 23 times, with Washington accusing the country of impeding film regulations that prioritise co-official languages and putting European production quotas of 30% on Netflix and other streaming platforms.
Chief correspondent for EL PAÍS in the United States Miguel Jiménez called the Treasury’s meeting summary statement ‘harsh’ and ‘cold.’
Jiménez compared the Spanish summary to the meetings with the German and French counterparts, where the Secretary mentions the ‘long-standing transatlantic relationship between the US and France’ and the ‘importance of the US-German economic relationship.’
The Spanish Minister spoke to the media after the meeting’s conclusion, in a more positive note compared to Bessent’s summary, stating their discussions were ‘very constructive’ and ‘very useful.’
It was “a very good first contact for continuing to maintain relations from now on on all issues that benefit us and that are of mutual interest to us, from trade, economic, and financial relations, but also a review, of course, of the current situation, also considering those mutual interests on the part of Spain and the United States,” Cuerpo said.
He further explained he hoped there would be ‘an open door to negotiation’ regarding the trade war, and defended the wider European stance that China is a strategic partner.
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