SPAIN’S exports to the United States fell by 5% in the first half of 2025 as Donald Trump’s tariff war begins to bite – with Madrid increasingly reliant on China instead.
Official trade figures released this week showed Spanish goods exports between January and June reached €197.1 billion, up 1% on last year and the second-highest first-half total on record.
But while sales to the US dropped to €8.75 billion, exports to China jumped nearly 14% to €3.95 billion, their strongest level since 2021.
The figures underline how Spain is being squeezed between Washington’s new-fangled protectionism and Beijing’s economic pull.
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Trump’s return to the White House just seven months ago has already redrawn trade flows. His new 15% tariff on European goods only took effect this month but they are already warping supply chains.
The pressure has been felt locally too. Washington recently dropped Spain’s largest port in Algeciras from its key Asia – US shipping route, a move seen as a direct snub in response to a series of diplomatic and commercial squabbles between the two NATO allies.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has responded by leaning heavily towards Beijing.
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He became the first European leader to visit China after Trump’s return, defying warnings from Washington that doing so would be like ‘cutting your own throat’.
Madrid has since defended contracts with Chinese tech giant Huawei and secured new export deals, with cherries added to the €1.86 billion of Spanish agri-food products already sold to China.
But the reliance cuts both ways. Imports from China rose 16% to €24.2 billion in the first half of 2025, leaving Spain with a record bilateral trade deficit of more than €20 billion.
Imports from the US also climbed 10% to €15.8 billion, widening Spain’s overall trade gap to €25.1 billion – up nearly 59% in a year.
By sector, food and drink remained Spain’s strongest export at €39.2 billion, while chemicals rose sharply. But car sales slumped nearly 9% to €25.7 billion, and energy exports dropped 19% to €11.5 billion.
The data shows that while Spanish exporters are holding their ground overall, the country’s economic balance is tilting eastward.
With Trump’s tariffs closing one door and China opening another, Spain risks becoming caught in the middle of a global trade war it cannot control.
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Over reliance on a single country is dangerous. Spain should be looking for new markets for its exports. We don’t have the figures for the trade deficit with China for the 2nd half of last year ( or comparable period in 2024) to make a comparison, but it appears Spain relies on China for a significant part of total imports. Too many Chinese emporiums!