Donald Trump's team has leveraged the good relationship between the Spanish government and the Chinese regime to host a US-China negotiating round in Madrid, but is wary of Spain being used as a Trojan horse in the EU.
The US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, made it clear at the end of the day that he will ensure that Spain and other countries do not end up becoming a "springboard" for China to gain a presence in the European market and take advantage of the tariff agreement that binds the US economy with the European one since last July.
Asked in Madrid if he is wary of the growing relationship between Spain and China, Greer responded, "In the agreement reached with the European Commission, we want to ensure that the benefits of that agreement occur between the US and the European Union, with Spain being part of that. And obviously, every time we have an agreement, we want to make sure that other countries are not used as a springboard for, for example, Chinese trade."
Greer does not rule out a major agreement between his country and China but wants it to be bilateral like the one with the EU without any backroom maneuvers. "If we are going to trade with China, which we will, we want to have an agreement with China. And if we have an agreement with the EU, we want it to cover that trade [between Europeans and Americans]."
The Spanish government, on its part, tried to use the fact that Madrid offered to host the fourth negotiating round between the US and China [following precedents like Geneva and Stockholm] to improve relations with the Trump team. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, hosted a breakfast for the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, and Greer at the Palacio de Viana in Madrid, accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, and Pedro Sánchez's economic advisor, Manuel de la Rocha.
Cuerpo pleased Bessent by announcing the opening of a new commercial office of Spain in the US, specifically in Houston, Texas. "We are very pleased," said the Treasury Secretary, eager for more US exports to the EU.
Greer went further and congratulated the Sánchez ministers for Spain maintaining a perpetual trade deficit with the US. He even described this imbalance in their favor as a sign of a positive and healthy trade relationship.
Indeed, according to the latest official data, Spain stands out from other major European economies by not achieving a surplus in the trade balance with the US, showing a lower capacity to penetrate the world's largest market but also less vulnerability to Trump's tariff hikes.
In the first half of this year, the negative balance with the US reaches 7,000 million, 2,000 million more than in the same period in 2024. And the deficit is expected to grow as Trump has secured a commitment from the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, for increased purchases of American gas at the expense of Russian gas.
Meanwhile, Spain's trade deficit with China is growing at a faster pace. In the first half, it reached a new record of 20,207 million, 3,000 million more than by June 2024. In other words, Spain's imbalance with China triples that with the US.
Both powers made a gesture towards Spain on Monday. It was quite unusual to see the Vice Premier and powerful leader of the Chinese Communist Party, He Lifeng, leaving the Palacio de Santa Cruz, near Plaza Mayor in Madrid. Minutes later, the US Treasury Secretary and the aforementioned Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, also exited. While He Lifeng simply greeted the international press with a smile, the Americans were willing to make statements.
Bessent, who has been publicly critical of the Sánchez government in recent months, chose to set aside differences in his statements in Madrid. He even included King Felipe VI in his public appreciation for Spain hosting the meeting with China, stating that the breakfast with Albares aimed to "strengthen the relationship between Spain and the US." He mentioned that it was "a very broad conversation" without delving into topics like Huawei or other usual issues such as the so-called Google Tax or Sánchez's resistance to increasing military and security spending to 5% of GDP.
According to Bessent, "We provided the Spanish ministers with an update on the state of the US economy, which is doing very well thanks to President Trump, and we received their opinions on trade and the European economy," among other topics.
Cuerpo described the meeting with Bessent and Greer as "productive," focusing on addressing common economic and trade interests, reaffirming the importance of the EU-US relationship. Albares, on his part, also mentioned on social media that "the relationship is close" and that "Spain is committed to peace, free trade, cooperation, and dialogue."