Trump's tariffs' initial impact on Catalonia: 3,161 companies and €4.3bn in sales affected

The tariffs announced by the US administration under President Donald J. Trump will affect at least 3,161 Catalan companies, representing around €4.3 billion in sales.

These are initial figures from the Catalonia Trade & Investment agency, which specializes in finding business opportunities for Catalan companies abroad.

Overall, these represent around 4.3% of all Catalan exports worldwide. In fact, exports to the US grew 19% in 2024 than the previous year.

The agency is, however, still analyzing the actual figures as this is just a preliminary report based on Wednesday's announcement.

The United States, notwithstanding the eventual impact these tariffs will cause, is the top destination outside of the European Union for Catalan exports. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, exports to the US have grown by 80%.

If figures on imports and exports is added, the US is the fifth trading partner with Catalonia, just after Germany, France, Italy, and China. 

The agency forecasts that the hardest hit sectors will be the chemical, pharmaceutical, and machinery industries, followed by the agrifood and metal industries.

Last year, the chemical sector exported €1.16 billion to the United States, accounting for 26.8% of the overall Catalan exports to the country. Pharmaceutical companies exported €707 million (16.3%), and the machinery industry around €224 million (11%).

Some of the products that will now face tariffs will be perfumes and cosmetic products, motorcycles, olive oil, wine, Cava sparkling wine, jewelry, juices, vegetable products, and fish produce.

Automotive sector

The manager of the Catalan Automotive Industry Cluster, Josep Nadal, warned on Thursday that in a globalized sector like the automotive industry, the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump could "break the supply chain" and affect the specializations that companies rely on. 

"Many companies, including those from Catalonia, have subsidiaries in other parts of the world that specialize in certain components. The tariffs could force the disruption of this specialization, and companies may not be as cost-effective or efficient in terms of production," he said. 

Nadal also pointed out that Catalan companies in the sector export a significant portion of their production to Europe, meaning the impact of the tariffs will be "indirect." 

Meeting with 30 companies

As it already happened in January, the first time Trump threatened with a 10% tariff, the Catalonia Trade & Investment agency recommends, once again, to analyze the situation.

During the last three months, the agency has been working and meeting with around 30 exporting companies to analyze, on a case by case basis, which are the best decisions to make regarding international current affairs.

Although, the "uncertainty" of the real impact Trump's decision will have, did not allow the government-funded agency to study the real impact.