MADRID: The Spanish government will implement a 14.1-billion-euro ($15.66 billion) plan to cushion the impact of the new U.S. tariffs on the Spanish economy, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday.
The package will include 7.4 billion euros in new financing, and the rest will come from existing instruments such as soft loans, Sanchez said.
He said he was also asking the European Commission to set up a fund financed by revenues from tariffs on imports from the United States that will be increased in response to the move that he said was unfriendly and unjustified.
He also sought an EU authorisation to allow more flexibility for large-scale domestic aid for the affected sectors, such as the car industry.
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“This tariff attack by the U.S. administration makes no distinction between friends and enemies, it doesn’t discriminate based on ideology or trade balance; it’s against everyone and everything,” Sanchez said.
The Spanish measures represent “a safety net that would, in the short term, protect those who see sales falling” as a result of a raft of tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, including a 20% tariff on imports form the European Union, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said earlier.
The European Union is eager to negotiate to avoid a trade war though would have to retaliate if there is no room for negotiation, Cuerpo said.
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