Reyes Maroto, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism in Pedro Sánchez’s government in Spain, has announced a wide-ranging strategy to drive Spain’s economic recovery. The Council of Ministers has approved an ambitious project “Action Plan for the Internationalisation of the Spanish Economy 2021-22”, which will put foreign trade at the heart of the Spanish economic recovery.

The Plan utilises research relating to the ‘Strategy for the Internationalization of the Spanish Economy 2017-2027‘ and sets out defined measures to promote and support both the concept and the practical application of internationalisation of the Spanish economy and is closely aligned to the ‘Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan’. The double blow of the coronavirus pandemic and the challenges that Brexit has delivered to Spanish cross-border trade has led to a determined plan to vigorously drive the foreign business sector to generate renewed economic growth leading to the generation of increased employment. Reyes Maroto made clear that the heart of the Plan is the foreign trade sector and this is anticipated to generate economic growth and subsequent employment.

The Plan aims to increase the number of small to medium businesses exporting to foreign markets with a view to expanding export and investment markets by strategically selecting certain sectors with the expectation of increasing Spanish visibility on the world stage. To achieve this aim SMEs identified as focused on globalisation will be able to access specific financial support developed for them. The government also plans to significantly strengthen existing global value chains that Spain already has access to and open new markets through a stable rule-based framework whilst further diversifying the sources of supply and developing additional frameworks for products for the project. The government recognises that the promotion of the digital transformation of existing international companies, together with assistance with sustainability are important features within the Plan.

The Spanish government, as with previous strategies, has incorporated within its Plan internationalisation policy guidelines built around a total of six axes defining the strategy, as follows:

Axis 1: extend flexible support for internationalisation which will adapt, as necessary, to the needs and profile of companies involved.
Axis 2: integrate innovation, technology, brand and digitisation appropriate to internationalisation.
Axis 3: seek out elite talent capable of developing and driving internationalisation.
Axis 4: seek out and utilise business opportunities derived from various sources including, financial institutions and international organisations.
Axis 5: actively attract and consolidate high-value foreign investment.
Axis 6: ensure that all relevant complementary actions related to internationalisation are appropriately coordinated.

The crucial support for the objectives of the Plan is the expanded range of financial instruments that the Spanish government has amassed to offer businesses in recognition of the need for increased finance to expand internationalisation. The expanded range is listed below:

• Corporate Internationalisation Fund (FIEM) will permit approvals reaching €500M
• The State-owned fund COFIDES which provides medium and long-term finance for profitable private investment projects that contribute to Spain’s economic globalisation strategy, assisting both the host countries as well as the Spanish economy will extend to a maximum of €350M
• The Fund for Foreign Investments (FIEX) will consider approvals up to €350M
• Funding approvals for the support of SMEs FONPYME is offering support up to €35M
• The Official Credit Institute (ICO), estimates funding levels for 2021 at around € 1,600M.
• The Spanish Export Credit Agency (CESCE) is a commercial risk management company announced forecasts for 2021 for contracting insurance on behalf of the CESCE is € 2,021M of issued insurance.

The Action Plan 2021-22 is in addition to the ‘Shock Plan against COVID-19’ which, was launched through Spain’s Secretary of State for Trade with urgent measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis in foreign trade.

The comprehensive measures announced by Reyes Maroto demonstrate the Spanish government’s determination to, not only support the Spanish export market but also drive forward a competitive expansion programme. The level of investment planned suggests that the resolve and financial support behind the programme will ensure that the commercial importers and exporters in Spain have in their hands the very best chance for the success for the dynamic Action Plan.

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