Spain unveils $15.66 billion plan to guard economic system from U.S. tariffs

By David Latona

MADRID (Reuters) -The Spanish authorities will implement a 14.1-billion-euro ($15.66 billion) plan to cushion the impression of the brand new U.S. tariffs on the Spanish economic system, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated on Thursday.

The bundle will embrace 7.4 billion euros in new financing, and the remainder will come from current devices akin to gentle loans, Sanchez stated.

He stated he was additionally asking the European Fee to arrange a fund financed by revenues from tariffs on imports from america that will likely be elevated in response to the transfer that he stated was unfriendly and unjustified.

He additionally sought an EU authorisation to permit extra flexibility for large-scale home support for the affected sectors, such because the automotive trade.

“This tariff assault by the U.S. administration makes no distinction between buddies and enemies, it would not discriminate based mostly on ideology or commerce stability; it is in opposition to everybody and all the pieces,” Sanchez stated.

The Spanish measures signify “a security web that might, within the brief time period, defend those that see gross sales falling” because of a raft of tariffs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, together with a 20% tariff on imports kind the European Union, Economic system Minister Carlos Cuerpo stated earlier.

The European Union is raring to barter to keep away from a commerce battle although must retaliate if there is no such thing as a room for negotiation, Cuerpo stated.

($1 = 0.9006 euros)

(Reporting by David Latona, Inti Landauro and Jesus Aguado, writing by Andrei Khalip)