The Council Criticises the Government for Separate Negotiations with Catalonia on Trump's Tariff Aid

There is a new clash between Pedro Sánchez's Government and Carlos Mazón's Council, this time over the tense trade war initiated by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, with his tariff policies. These tariffs would increase taxes on European Union exports to the US by 20%.

In this latest episode, the Generalitat has once again criticised the Government's negotiation methods, which agreed with Junts on Wednesday to amend the royal decree that includes aid for US tariffs. This aid will be distributed based on export volume, with 25% going to Catalonia.

All this comes a day before the sectoral conference called by the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, on Thursday, which brings together all the autonomous communities. Before this, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Marián Cano, criticised the Government.

Cano stated that "negotiating with one part and forgetting the rest of the regions" is unacceptable, referring to the change in tariff aid that would see Catalonia receive 25% of the total ICO guarantees. The minister demanded "no bilateral negotiations" and urged the Government to meet "with all communities at the same time."

The Community is the third largest exporter to the United States, with over 2.8 billion euros, only behind Catalonia and Andalusia. "The Community is an exporter, and we believe that when negotiating these necessary funds, all communities must be at the table; ignoring part of the territory is not acceptable," Cano denounces.

The meeting is held a day after Donald Trump announced a 90-day freeze on tariffs for all countries to negotiate and avoid this trade war. This measure will not apply to China, where tariffs will increase to 125%.

Cano indicates that the Generalitat and the Ministry of Commerce are mapping the situation of provinces, regions, and even affected companies to convey export concerns to the Government.

Footwear, auxiliary industry, or the agri-food sector are some of the most affected sectors, although there are others "with an export vocation that had the United States in their sights for international expansion," explains the minister.

"We must demand negotiations with a united voice, with intelligence, negotiating from Europe a position that leads to de-escalation; we cannot turn our backs on such an important market," defends the regional head of foreign trade.