Spain saw surge in imports from China and US just before Trump's trade tariffs came into effect

Between January and February, the value of purchases from both China and the US increased by 22.9% and 13.1%, respectively, while Spain's trade deficit increased by 58.2%

Claudia T. Ferrero

Madrid

Friday, 25 April 2025, 13:17

Spain imported goods from China and the US like never before between January and February, possibly in an attempt to stockpile before Trump's tariffs came into force. The aggregate volume of imports from these two countries is 13.5 billion euros, that's 20% more than during the same period last year and 5% more than in 2023, which was the record year for foreign trade until now.

The record figures were announced in a report compiled by the Ministry of Economy, which was released on Tuesday 22 April. "We must be cautious, because the foreign trade data are provisional and subject to significant fluctuations, but there does seem to be a difference in the case of the US in particular, which seems to point to a possible stockpiling or storage of goods from the country in view of the uncertainty created," said chief analyst Raúl Mínguez.

Sources among Spanish exporting companies have been talking about stockpiling as a feasible strategy to avoid at least the first blow of the tariff offensive. In other words, to concentrate and accelerate planned shipments for the year as a whole at the beginning of the year to avoid the trade burdens that could result from the trade offensive launched by the Trump administration. Foreign trade data from the start of the year seem to suggest that companies importing products threatened by possible tariffs have turned in this direction.

The big figures show that imports rose by 4.9% in the first two months of 2025 - slightly higher than the 3.5% the government forecast for the year as a whole just a couple of months ago. Purchases abroad in this period reached 71.4 billion euros - the second highest figure of the last decade - in a context of clear economic slowdown, which underscores how exceptional this is.

China becomes Spain's leading supplier

Particularly noteworthy is the increase in purchases from China, which shot up by nearly 23% compared to the first two months last year, reaching 8 billion euros, consolidating a weight of 11.2% of Spain's total imports and making the Asian giant the leading foreign supplier of goods to Spain ahead of Germany (the country that has historically occupied this privileged position). Whether this is a temporary or a more permanent position in Spain's economy is yet to be seen.

However, the EU continues to be Spain's largest supplier, despite the 2.5% drop in imports recorded between January and February 2024. Of all imports recorded in Spain, 47% (33.5 billion euros) come from the EU and 55% from Europe as a whole. Similarly, exports to the EU fell by 2.8% in annual terms, amounting to 38.4 billion euros. The trade balance with the EU-27 and with the Eurozone continues to be favourable for Spain, standing at 4.9 billion euros and 4.8 billion euros, respectively. There has also been a strong increase in trade with Asia as a whole, both in terms of purchases and sales.

This shift comes after the diplomatic spat sparked by Pedro Sánchez's trip to China during Donald Trump's tariff offensive against the Asian country, which led US treasury secretary Scott Bessent to say that such an approach was akin to "cutting one’s own throat".

Spain's purchases from the US also increased at the start of the year, most likely due to importers' fear of being penalised by a foreseeable tariff crossfire between the Trump administration and the EU. They did so by more than 13%, to 5.4 billion euros, widening Spain's trade deficit with the US by 30% to 2.6 billion. However, Spanish exports to the US did not reach the same levels as imports from the US, stagnating at the start of the year.

Export sources had suggested that some companies with interests in the US had already begun to fill their inventories in anticipation of a tariff offensive. However, the broader data reveals a reality of stagnant sales to the US, which Raúl Mínguez had a simple explanation for: "There are signs of the cost of uncertainty starting to show. Stockpiling doesn't just depend on the exporter - it mainly depends on the importer. It's possible that, seeing how unstable the situation is, they're less willing to stock up just in case."

Trade deficit soars by 58%

The deficit of the Spanish trade balance soared by 58.2% (9.6 billion euros) in the first two months of the year compared to the negative balance of 6.1 billion that it accumulated in the same period of 2024. The trigger was the striking increase in imports, especially from China, in the days that turned out to be the prologue to the tariff trade war unleashed by the US against half the world. The movement has caused the Spanish trade deficit in the first two months of the year to climb to the second highest figure in the last decade. It has not been this high since 2022, when it reached 11.7 billion euros, as Spain was growing strongly while the rest of Europe (our main market) barely managed to grow.

The new balance was the direct consequence of the slight decline experienced by exports of Spanish goods, but mainly due to the increase in imports. The former maintained the pace of recent years, with a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.4% to 61.7 billion euros. Meanwhile, imports soared by 4.9% in the first two months of 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. This increase in foreign purchases reached its highest figure since 2016, standing at 71.4 billion euros.

In a press statement, the Ministry of Economy highlighted the stability of exports to the US in the period from January to February, "despite the context of uncertainty". However, what is really worth highlighting is the increase in purchases from China, which among other things have boosted the increase in the Spanish trade balance deficit, being the country that has contributed most positively to both the year-on-year rate of change in Spanish exports and Spanish imports up to February.

Top 50

Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.

Reporta un error en esta noticia