Spanish companies operating in Algeria do not hide their activities. “maximum concern” For dealing a blow to his business which could cause diplomatic conflict between the North African country and Spain. Algeria decided to break the bilateral friendship agreement last week and freeze direct debits for trade Between the two countries after the Spanish Government’s return to Western Sahara supporting Morocco’s autonomy plan.
Although it seems that after pressure from the European Commission, the Algerian government backed down and refused to suspend bilateral trade, the truth is that companies They insist on banning exports to the Maghreb country and without a counter-order reversing the direct debit ban, they will continue to be frozen. In total uncertainty, businessmen fear that the diplomatic confrontation will escalate.
Companies with business interests in Algeria say export fees were collected prior to June 9, when Algeria ordered the blockade, but activity after that date was blocked, as several business sources confirm. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism insists that the real effects of Algeria’s decision on bilateral trade are still being confirmed, and they Be careful until you know the situation reliably.
Algeria guarantees gas supplies to Spanish companies, but remains uncertain for other sectors and especially those linked to the export business. CEOE initiated a series of contacts with relevant companies and business entities from the affected sectors (beef, material for the energy sector, water treatment…) to collect specific data on companies’ problems and pass them on to the Spanish Government, so that the Spanish Government knows the casuistry of commercial influence. diplomatic crisis.
For employers, it is essential to collect this information to enable the Government to take action to address the specific problems of companies. The CEOE urges the Executive to take action to resolve the diplomatic issue and remove barriers to bilateral trade. But it also started Take action to directly involve the European Union to ease tensions.
CEOE maneuvering European employers Business EuropeThat the European Commission has occupied one of the vice presidents of the Spanish organization to keep the Spanish companies informed about the situation and to be directly involved in the resolution of the conflict. It is emphasized from the CEOE that there is a very strong channel of influence in Brussels and that it tries to directly add the European Union institutions to the diplomatic pressure on Algeria and the search for a solution.
The European Commission acknowledged this Monday that it is continuing its contacts to clarify the situation. The impact of the conflict between Spain and Algeria after Brussels warned last week that it was ready to “face any coercive measures” against an EU member state. For now, the Commission commits to its “effort” to support conflict resolution and calls for dialogue between both sides. Committed to reducing the conflict before taking concrete measures, the Spanish government has warned in recent days that it will resort to European Union channels if Algeria violates trade agreements.
Freezing wire transfers to curb foreign trade with Spain could have a huge impact on the Spanish economy. Between January and July 2021, Spain imported 2,237 million euros from Algeria, while the transaction volume in the other direction was 1.111 million. According to the Foreign Trade Directorate, Spain exported 2.735 million worth of goods to Algeria in 2019, the last year it was not affected by the pandemic.