Donald Trump’s threat to Spain to cut all types of commercial relations with our country has come as a shock to the Spanish economic sectors. And for some economic experts, like José Carlos Díez, we are facing “the most serious moment in relations with the United States since Franco died.”
This is what he commented in The Compass of the Economywhere he has recognized that although Trump is a “complicated” man, it is in Spain’s best interest to get along with him.
“There are two places in the world to do business: the place led by the United States and the one led by China and Russia. The good place to do business is the one led by the United States (…) If we want our companies to continue selling in the world led by the United States and have the level of employment and salaries that we now have in Spain, which is very high, you have to get along with the United States,” he explained.
Díez is committed to maintaining a good relationship with the North American government as other left-wing governments such as Mexico or Brazil have done, which do not like Trump either, “but you swallow.”
Regarding Sánchez’s attitude, Díez highlights that in a high-level international diplomacy “you cannot force the situation in which the president of the United States says that he doesn’t like what you say about the bases and that he is going to use them whenever he wants,” he says.
The expert also warns that if this rupture continues and the United States cuts off gas supplies to Spain (it is the main supplier), in a few months we could be facing “a differential energy crisis.”
“If the gas cut is permanent, and it can be done with two phone calls, Spain does not have the physical capacity to replace a 40% gas supplier (…) If that happens, we will be hit by an energy crisis different from the rest of the countries and that will be transmitted to the risk premium and we will have a Cisco at the level of 2012,” he stated.
Sánchez’s electoral calculation
Díez also points out that in Sánchez’s anti-Trump stance there is an electoral calculation that could lead to an electoral advance given the “critical situation” that the president is going through in the polls.
“Sánchez is going to use this to try to put the PP in an Iraq-type trap and call elections with the Andalusians (…) It is the last silver bullet to continue in Moncloa,” he explains.
Trump’s contempt
The expert also explains that Pedro Sánchez “has achieved the most absolute contempt from Trump” due to his attitude at international meetings.
“He despises him because Sánchez is the toughest president and the one who tries to take photos the most at all international summits. Trump has forbidden it to his team, he doesn’t want a photo with him,” he says.
