The Economy of Catalonia

declaration of independence, the boycott would no longer be able to accomplish
its main purpose. The only reason for the boycott would then
be to take reprisal, so in this case it would be much more difficult to
maintain it over time.
Lastly, boycotts of this nature tend to have a very limited scope and often
affect only a few products of wide consumption that are particularly representative
or emblematic of the country concerned, such as Catalan
cava (sparkling wine) in 2005. Similarly, French wine has been subject to
boycotts on various occasions when consumers in some countries wished
to protest against specific political actions of France, which they considered
harmful to them. A study of numerous international examples,
however, allows us to state that the vast majority of the products exported
by countries are rarely subject to politically motivated boycotts of
the type we are dealing with here.
If there is a boycott, what effects would it have?
Despite the considerations made in the previous section concerning the
economic nature of trade relations, it must be recognised that commerce
often has ideological, political and even emotional dimensions as well.
Therefore it makes good sense to analyse the possibility that Catalonia’s
independence and the political conflict that it would entail could trigger
a commercial boycott against Catalan products in the Spanish market. As
previously mentioned, this is by no means a remote possibility, as was
seen in 2005 when, in the midst of negotiations on the new Autonomy
Statute of Catalonia, various leaders of Spanish public opinion called for
action of this type. In our book Sense Espanya (Without Spain) (2011),
we deal in depth with the subject of commercial boycotts against countries,
both conceptually and through a study of specific cases. This book
focuses on an appraisal of the repercussions, for the Catalan economy
and companies, of a hypothetical boycott waged by some sectors of
Spanish society.
Our analysis of the economic consequences of such a boycott starts with
the fact that it would affect, as is only natural, the commercial dimension
of the economy and would imply a change in the trade flows between
Catalonia and Spain. In general terms, the organisation of a boycott
against Catalan products would have two effects on bilateral trade. In the
184 The Economy of Catalonia