The customs tariffs proposed by Donald Trump and his tax policy were placed at the center of the debates this Tuesday during the inaugural round table of the Latibex Forum. This event – which is the major annual meeting of Spanish investors with listed companies from Latin America – is being held this Tuesday and Wednesday at the Madrid Stock Exchange Palace, just two weeks after the victory of the Republican candidate in the presidential elections.
In the first panel, which reviewed expectations macro for the region, Alejandro Padilla, chief economist of Grupo Financiero Banorte, explained that Latin America, and particularly Mexico, can benefit from the trade conflict between the United States and China. For his part, Juan Cerruti, chief economist of Banco Santander, pointed out that the first Trump government was characterized more by negotiation than by dogmatism, so we can expect a round of negotiations that will allow him to continue to shape its measures, including customs duties. .
David Jiménez-Blanco, vice president of the BME, also referenced Trump in his speech at the Forum’s inaugural luncheon. “Donald Trump’s victory in the North American elections adds a new element to the analysis: the imposition of tariffs and limits on immigration can cause a rise in prices, which adds to the inflationary pressure of a possible revaluation of the dollar. This situation also makes the listing of Ibero-American companies on the Spanish markets more attractive.particularly in the case of SMEs and startups“, he defended. “A greater restriction on immigration can even have positive effects to the extent that these migratory flows are distributed”, underlined, for his part, Javier Pérez, head of the international economy and the euro zone of the Bank of Spain.
Spain stands out as the second largest investor in Latin America, with 11% of the total invested and 52% of European Union investments. And it is also the opposite, since Latin America has grown in this decade and is already the fourth investor in our country. Latin America is a diverse continent, with a population of 652 million, representing 8% of the world’s population. It generates wealth of 7,000,000 billion dollars, the equivalent of 7.3% of global GDP, making it the fourth largest economy in the world.
During this first day, the Forum also benefited from the presence of Amparo López Senovilla, Secretary of State for Commerce, who highlighted that “investments by Spanish companies constitute not only the second source of foreign direct investment, but Also, Among the top 10 global productive investment destinations for Spain are three countries in the region, which are Mexico, Brazil and Argentina“. But, in addition, “the investments that Spain receives from the region are increasing”, which makes these same three countries stand out.
