The Minister of Economy, Commerce, and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, participated on May 8th in Madrid in an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Spain (AmChamSpain), where he met with more than a hundred senior executives from AmChamSpain member companies, including both American and Spanish companies.

During the working breakfast, Cuerpo highlighted the strong performance of the Spanish economy in terms of GDP growth, which was 0.7% in the first quarter of the year, showing a greater recovery compared to other European countries. He also pointed out the investment of more than 30 billion from the Next Generation European funds, describing a tool from the Ministry to analyze where the investments have been made and expressing optimism about the ongoing public investments. Additionally, he announced the creation of public investment instruments, particularly for strategic companies and SMEs, beyond 2027 once all NextGen funds have been invested.

Jaime Malet, President of AmChamSpain, conveyed to the Minister the opportunities for Spain in this historic moment due to changes in globalization that direct investments towards friendly countries, away from conflicts, due to the ability to generate renewable energy and green hydrogen to attract industrial investment, and due to the application of artificial intelligence in the production sector.

Regarding the future of the Spanish economy, Cuerpo stated, "that it will be necessary to continue making the necessary reforms for the improvement of productivity, which has improved in recent years but has been declining for two decades in Spain."

The concept of strategic autonomy was also discussed. Malet conveyed the concern of many American companies, which have been investing in Europe for decades, that such autonomy might serve to create major French and German European champions, not Spanish ones, at the expense of reducing the American presence. The Minister pointed out that the concept of European strategic autonomy does not go against the transatlantic link, which remains vital for both Brussels and the Government of Spain.