Thank you for your continued support of the US Commercial Service. The safety and well-being of our clients, partners, and staff is our top priority. In light of the developing COVID-19 outbreak, the International Trade Administration has decided to CANCEL the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer Pelaez’s visit in May.
Our team will provide updates as we look to reschedule this event. We recognize that this schedule change may affect your near-term business plans, and we hope that making this adjustment now will allow you to make other plans.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact Todd Hiser at todd.hiser@trade.gov. We remain committed to expanding U.S. business opportunities in markets around the globe and look forward to helping you achieve your goals in the near future.
Export Opportunities in Spain and Portugal: Outreach to Ohio and Michigan
On May 7 in Detroit and May 8 in Cleveland, our Deputy Senior Commercial Officer for the U.S. Commercial Service in Madrid, Spain, Ricardo Pelaez, will be in town to meet with local exporters interested in doing business in Spain and Portugal. Come learn how you can tap into these two markets, which account for over $729 million worth of exports from Ohio and Michigan.
Why Spain
Come for the sun, tapas, wine and cava, but stay for the business. Spain has increasingly turned towards the United States for trade and investment. Spain is the 10th largest investor in the United States and our 25th largest trading partner. Its foreign direct investment stock totals $76.38 billion and is estimated to support over 80,000 U.S. jobs. U.S. companies are the largest source of FDI in Spain with over $55 billion invested. An update to the bilateral tax protocol in November 2019, eliminated double taxation of U.S. and Spanish companies and is expected to yield billions of dollars in savings as well as increased investment and job creation. Spain has showed the strongest growth in the EU with a recent three-year surge of at least 3-percent growth per annuum. The Spanish GDP growth slowed to about 2.4 percent in 2018 and is expected to have further decelerated to 1.9 percent in 2019. According to Spanish data, Spain received a record 83 million tourists in 2018 (nearly 3 million from the United States).
Top sectors for U.S. exports to Spain include: advanced materials, cyber security, defense, franchising, outbound tourism, pet products, professional audio/visual equipment, renewable energy, and security equipment.
Why Portugal
United States-Portugal bilateral ties date from the earliest years of the United States, where the oldest continuously-operating U.S. Consulate in the world is in Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. The United States is also Portugal’s largest trading partner outside the European Union. Bilateral trade in goods and services reached $8 billion in 2018, a 9 percent increase from the previous year. The United States exported $1.46 billion in goods in 2018, with machinery, mineral fuels, aircraft, and vehicles as the leading products. The United States imported $3.5 billion during the same time, with mineral fuels, cork, and machinery in the lead. The stock of U.S. direct investment in Portugal reached $2.1 billion in 2017, and U.S. companies are significant investors in the banking, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, among others. During the same period, Portugal invested a total of $1.1 in the USA, an increase of 14.4% compared to 2016.
Apart from excellent trade relations, Portugal has become a trendy spot for American tourists and is among the safest countries in the world; tourism from the USA quadrupled over the past few years.
About our presenter
Ricardo, a Cleveland-native, is a career Foreign Service Officer with over 20 years of experience with the U.S. Commercial Service. Prior to arriving in Madrid in 2017, Ricardo served as Senior Commercial Officer in Lima, Peru (2013-2017). Following the completion of Mandarin language studies at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, DC (2007-2008), Ricardo completed two tours as a Commercial Officer in Greater China: first in Taipei, Taiwan (2008-2011) followed by Shanghai, China (2011-2013).
To schedule a meeting call our office at 216-522-4750 or email office.cleveland@trade.gov as soon as possible as Ricardo’s schedule is expected to fill up quickly!