Spain and the United States - Real Instituto Elcano

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SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES
Exhibit 4.5 Spanish Exports to the United States by Trade Chapter
Spain, like Italy, exports shoes, but whereas most of Spain’s shoes are
lower-priced “private label” brands, Italy sells brand names, based more on
design and a differentiated product, which are sold for higher prices. The
volume of Spanish shoes exported to the United States has been declining since
1999 (from 18.5 million pairs to 7 million in 2004), mainly as a result of the
strong competition from China. Quality, however, and not quantity is what
should matter for a country at Spain’s stage of development. The trade chapters
where Spain’s market share is highest (tinned food, shoes, cement and
ceramics) represent less than 5% of US imports and these market shares have
been declining. For example, the market share in footwear halved between
1998 and 2004 to 1.4%. On the other hand, the market share of
pharmaceuticals rose almost sixfold over the same period to 1.4% – thanks to
US and other multinationals in Spain.
Several of the US multinationals in Spain are major exporters, notably
Opel (General Motors) and Ford, which every year are among the country’s top
ten exporters. Ford began to produce cars in Spain in 1976, when its exports
accounted for 26% of its total sales. The yearly average since then has been
around 75% (see Exhibit 4.6).
The US market is very demanding and is not for the faint-hearted. Most
Spanish companies ignore it, despite the many years of promotional and