On February 16, the new Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Spain, AmChamSpain, was received by His Majesty the King Felipe VI. The Board of Directors was led by its Chairman, Jaime Malet, and joined by leading executives from 20 multinational companies which represent 280 AmChamSpain member companies.
The delegation included executives from Walt Disney, 3M, Bank of America, McKinsey & Co., BCW, Facebook, AIG, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Citigroup, HP, Clairfield, Amgen, Hotusa, Microsoft, IBM, Telam, American Express, Gilead, Pfizer and Costco.
During the meeting, the Board of Directors communicated AmChamSpain’s priorities to support the economic recovery in Spain and to strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship. Specifically, six lines of action:
1. To reinforce Spain’s “equity story” in international markets. The Chamber believes it is necessary to rebrand the country’s image to attract both direct foreign investment and portfolio investment and also to strengthen Spanish companies that invest and sell their products and services in international markets.
2. To promote competitiveness as a pathway to attract investment and talent and to create mass, high-quality employment. The Chamber’s working committees propose structural changes to the Spanish economy that will allow it to improve its position compared to other competitors. The Chamber promotes legislative improvements in the labor market, the education sector and the tax system. It promotes efficiency in the public sector, energy sustainability, public and private investment in R&D&I, a healthcare system able to offer innovative healthcare equally throughout the entire country, digitalization in industry and initiatives to provide women greater access to leadership positions. The Chamber believes it is necessary to support the export and tourism sectors which have been crucial in overcoming previous crises.
3. To support institutional stability and the Rule of Law, with special support for the Constitution and the Crown.
4. To work with the new Biden administration to strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship between the United States and Europe, in which Spain is fundamental due to its strategic role in Latin America and the Mediterranean.
5. To support a culture of responsible investment: Environment, Social & Governance (ESG).
6. To engage major international funds in participating in far-reaching projects directed at sustainably improving the industrial sector, complementing the European Next Generation funds with public-private collaboration.
Malet also indicated that “this is, undoubtedly, a time of great challenges: the pandemic, climate change, major technological disruptions, new geostrategic conflicts, inequalities and migrations. This is truly a new world. We here at the Chamber represent many of the largest companies worldwide, both American and Spanish, but also small- and medium-sized enterprises. We represent all sectors and we want to contribute to make this new world a better world as well”.
“The collaboration between Europe and the United States is fundamental in order to overcome the healthcare and economic crisis and Spain can play a vital role. At this time, more than ever, American and Spanish companies must collaborate with each other and with the public sector, providing service and optimism”, indicated the Chairman of the Chamber, Jaime Malet, at the end of the meeting.
