The Diplomat
The President of the Spanish Exporters and Investors Club, Antonio Bonet, stressed the importance of moderating regulatory and fiscal costs so that Spanish companies continue to invest in goods and services destined for the foreign market, during the presentation of the Internationalisation Awards, which this year went to CAF, RAESA and the former President of CESCE, Álvaro Bustamante.
During his speech, in the presence of the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez, Bonet stated that “internationalised companies are more resilient and competitive, generate higher quality employment and are spearheads for getting our country out of crises”. And he gave as an example that Spanish companies have continued to break records this year in international markets: between January and September, exported goods amounted to 287,000 million euros, 25% more than the previous year.
However, he did not hide the fact that the base of Spanish exporting companies is still small, although it has grown in recent years: 59,000 regular exporters, with the 1,000 largest accounting for more than 67% of our foreign sales.
Antonio Bonet warned of the major challenges and uncertainties facing the foreign sector, citing among them the risk of recession in Europe, which “continues to be our main export market, accounting for 67% of foreign sales”. He also referred to the new trade disputes between the United States and the European Union, “which could be serious, and which are motivated by President Biden’s protectionist plans”.
Bonet expressed his concern about the evolution of the trade balance of payments deficit, which is also breaking records and could drag down the current account balance of payments, which, “if confirmed, could mean that the foreign sector would cease to be the engine that helps us out of the crisis, as on other occasions”.
For her part, the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez, in her speech, emphasised the good figures that Spanish exports are achieving this year, and assured that, although the current situation makes it advisable to be vigilant, this does not mean that we must not give up the ambition to promote the competitiveness of the Spanish foreign sector, diversifying the destination markets and increasing the added value of exports. He also added that both sustainability and the inclusion of women in business should form part of the drive for internationalisation, as well as a boost to public-private collaboration.
Among the actions currently underway in favour of internationalisation, the Secretary of State drew the attention of the entrepreneurs to two of great interest: the non-refundable line of financing for feasibility studies and consultancy, endowed with 50 million euros, and the ICEX-Vives programme, which promotes scholarships for 2,000 young people in internationalised Spanish companies.
The winners in 2022
The large Spanish company honoured with the 2022 Internationalisation Award was CAF, a multinational railway and rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance company founded in 1917. 90% of its turnover, which exceeds 3,000 million euros, corresponds to its international activity. It has subsidiaries in 17 countries and production facilities in Europe and America. Its CEO, Javier Martínez Ojinaga, received the award from the Secretary of State for Trade.
In the SME category, the award-winning company was RAESA from Palencia, created in 1982 and dedicated to the manufacture and implementation of irrigation solutions for agriculture. The company exports to 110 countries and 70% of its turnover comes from international business. It has factories in Argentina and Brazil and subsidiaries in 15 countries. Its deputy general manager, Ferran Tapia, who represents the second generation of this family business, collected the award.
Álvaro Bustamante, a commercial technician and state economist, was honoured for his entire career in the service of the internationalisation of Spanish companies. He was Deputy Director General of Financing and, subsequently, from 1992, he worked at CESCE, where he was Director of the State Account and Chairman from 2012 to 2016.
