Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2010, just after Spain won the World Cup. Its picture of Spanish companies in the US, relations under Bush and Obama, and the count of US companies in Spain reflect that moment; Iberdrola Renovables was reabsorbed into Iberdrola in 2011.
The United States likes Spain. In fact, it is opening its doors to us in business, making the US market a very attractive one for Spanish companies. Americans like our culture, they love our cities, and even though they know we need to improve on the business side, they are willing to give us a chance.
According to the magazine Actualidad Económica, Spanish will become the definitive second language in the United States, and in less than five years more than 153 million Americans will speak Spanish, making it the country with the second-largest number of Spanish speakers in the world.
In 2009 we had more tourism than the United States, although they were number one in tourism revenue. Tourism is a source of income we are still not making the most of in Spain, and we should look into why.
That said, the United States today has a strong presence of Spanish companies, and although we may believe we have nothing to offer them, which is what I used to think, it turns out we can offer more than we imagine on technology.
We are ahead of the United States in railway construction, aqueducts, renewable energy and above all in art, with our art being a source of investment for the United States.
Iberdrola Renovables is the second most important renewable energy company in the United States, and Ferrovial has a large presence and a major source of revenue in the country.
On the main streets of the busiest cities, such as New York, especially Manhattan, you’ll find our Spanish fashion brand, Zara, and Amancio Ortega is a man admired in the United States who features heavily in the country’s news.
Our football team, our national side, managed something that had never happened before in the United States: the Spanish flag was seen more than the American flag, and given how patriotic Americans are, Spaniards who were there say they had to hold back tears because they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Americans shouting “¡Viva España!“.
Although we had our ups and downs when our prime minister didn’t get along with President George Bush, once Bush left office and the new president, Obama, came in, relations between the two countries improved considerably.
One fact caught my attention, and I even found it hard to believe: they admire our business schools, and in fact any Spanish graduate in business administration and management is welcome in the United States.
Our banking system is also very present in the United States, led by Banco Santander. Our actors are already part of a very exclusive Hollywood circle. Our sports journalist Sara Carbonero is considered the sexiest journalist in the world in the United States.
They love our flamenco, and they are passionate about our bullfights, with the San Fermín festival being the most watched event across all US television programming for days.
There is one fact we don’t like so much, though: only 500 American companies operate in Spain. That’s welcome, but it’s few compared with 3,000 companies in France and 5,000 in Germany. Of course, this is also due to the high taxes we have in Spain, so they prefer to go to other countries and operate in Spain from there (with their headquarters in another country so as not to pay taxes here).
American investors recommend buying Spanish government debt, so in itself the confidence they have in us is very positive.
In short: the United States loves Spain, and that is very good and productive for Spanish businesses and companies.
Further reading
- Differences between American and Spanish business owners
- Common mistakes Spanish business owners make
Featured image: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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