A representation of the US Chamber of Commerce in Spain, AmChamSpain, met this morning with the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno. The representation of AmChamSpain was headed by its Chairman, Jaime Malet, accompanied by the main executives of 13 multinational companies representing the 280 associated companies.

Líders of AECOM, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AT&T, Atlantic Copper, Blackstone, Boeing, Cosentino, Costco, Eurosemillas, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, IBM, McKinsey & Co., and MSD were present.

During the meeting, the priorities of the AmChamSpain members in the Andalusia region and the Chamber's objectives for improving the competitiveness and internationalization of the business sector were discussed. Futhermore, President Moreno shared with the members of the Chamber the priorities and economic plans of the Government of Andalusia.

In particular, there was discussion on:

• The situation of the current Andalusian economy in the context of the pandemic.
• The need to strengthen the visibility of Andalusia in international markets to attract direct investment and support the export of goods and services.
• The growth clusters of the region, especially the tourism, industrial and agri-food sectors.
• Likewise, public-private collaboration was commented in detail in the context of Next Generation funds. Within this section, the importance of investing in digitizing and internationalizing SMEs and in the ecological transition and circular economy was pointed out, especially through the development of the large industrial centers of the region.
• Finally, the commercial relationship with the United States was analyzed after the five-year suspension of the tariffs imposed on many agricultural products produced in Andalusia, including olive oil, following the WTO ruling against subsidies to Airbus.

“Andalusia has the opportunity to reinvent itself thanks to NextGeneration EU funds, especially if they are complemented with quality investment. Sectors such as agri-food, the chemical industry and the mining sector can aspire to a golden age if they bet on digitization and the green economy, export markets are opened and foreign investment is attracted. Some of the best Andalusian companies, such as Atlantic Copper, Cosentino, Eurosemillas and many others, are members of the Chamber and can serve as an example to attract new investments”, said Malet.

This meeting was held after a series of high-level encounters celebrated this year with our Board of Directors. The first in Zarzuela with His Majesty the King in February, followed by another in Moncloa with the President of the Government accompanied by the Vice President of the Economy, in April.