Spain’s Changing Relations: How Biden will affect Spain-US Foreign Policy
Historically, Spain and the United States have cultivated their extensive cultural links to create advantageous economic opportunities, and the two nations work together on a variety of political and security concerns. Both nations are members of various international organisations including North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations (UN), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is not the say that their history of cooperation has been easy, especially during the previous presidential term.
Relations between the US and Spain experienced challenges across Trump’s presidency, especially following the formation of the left-wing governing alliance between Unidos Podemos and PSOE (the Socialist workers party). The most significant event in the deterioration of Spanish-US relations occurred in October 2019, when President Donald Trump announced that the United States of America would be imposing a tariff on exports from the European Union (Lawder, Blenkinsop and Hepher, 2019). 765 million euros worth of agricultural exports were affected by the tariffs; Spain’s domestic olive oil industry, which makes up a third of this, has experienced decreased demand in response to the global competitors such as Italy and Greece being able to offer more attractive prices to the US (Lawder, Blenkinsop and Hepher, 2019). The global spread of COVID-19 exacerbated the sentiments of the Trump administration, proving both hostility and indifference to the shared commitments to both global institutions and Spain alone. Despite the challenges faced by Spanish policy makers, the Pew Research Centre Global Attitudes Survey showed an increase in Spanish nationals’ confidence in Trump to ‘do the right thing regarding world affairs’ (Pew Research Center, 2017) (Pew Research Center, 2019), however, when looking at cross-generational research of European nations’ confidence in American presidents, it is evident that Trump is as distrusted as Bush by Spanish citizens (Poushter, 2020).
How much confidence do you have in the U.S. President Donald Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs?
Source: Pew Research Center, 2017; Pew Research Center, 2019
Source: Poushter, 2020.
Despite the slight increase in trust across his term, evidently, throughout the Trump administration the conceptual chasm between Washington and Madrid became wider, exacerbating issues such as tariffs and global cooperation.
The Royal Institute Elcano recognises that Joe Biden’s victory was well received in Spain, with European surveys suggesting significant trust in the new president and a glimmer of hope for a change in relations (Fundación Real Instituto Elcano, 2021). However, Biden will face challenges, namely rebuilding relations, reducing tariffs and continuing bilateral cooperation over Latin America. Reversing the tariffs levied on Spanish producers should be the new president’s initial priority regarding transatlantic cooperation. For the tariffs to be reversed, the bilateral connection, as well as cooperation with the EU, is becoming more critical than ever (Riezman, 1991, 270). Secondly, Latin America, which has always been a crucial component of the bilateral strategy, would present a potential threat to the relationship, especially in nations of Venezuela and Cuba, both of which Trump implemented new restrictions shortly prior to leaving the White House (Stuenkel, 2020). Provided that both Spain and the US have significant geopolitical, political, and economic needs, discussions have always occurred between the nations and should continue under Biden, despite the differences in interest between Spain and the US in recent years.
Ultimately, despite challenges, the Biden administration provides an opportunity to return to a wider partnership, one that spans more regions and industries, in addition to an increasingly fluid partnership with a more dynamic and integrated relationship between Washington and Madrid. There is significant potential for the broader intercontinental collaboration to solidify itself as a partnership that extends outside of defence and reconnects the transatlantic nations on social and health concerns. It is critical that Spain participates in all efforts to update the transatlantic ties, as Biden has made it clear that he is focused on rebuilding America’s ties with the world at large (Biden, 2021). Furthermore, the restoration of the US’ image in Europe following Trump is a key element in the development of a reciprocal partnership that depends on public support from both nations. Spain has the option to drive this change across Europe, becoming a key figure in transatlantic relations following their snub by Trump.
The relationship between the US and Spain is undeniably variable and has overcome enormous challenges across the past 20 years, transforming technology, economics and defence relations. These changes haven’t been circumstantial, but rather, a reflection of the systemic global changes rather than changing presidencies. However, changing presidents always provides the opportunity to shift bilateral relations. The greater compatibility between Biden’s Democratic Party and the Spanish Coalition provide impetus for further cooperation between Spain individually and the European Union at large. Whilst the pandemic and social crisis will continue to remain most significant for US officials, it is clear that the Biden administration are looking to increase international dialogue and strengthen transnational relations, hopefully increasing Spaniard’s faith in US foreign policy and relations.
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