The United States and Spain: changing relations and a strong historical bond

Although one is an economic and political giant and the other's international position is a little more modest, relations between the United States and Spain are healthy and increasingly intense, although we must not lose sight of the difficulties that lie ahead. What began in the mid-1950s as a purely military relationship, following the installation of the Morón and Rota bases, has evolved into a fluid bilateral relationship today. "Relations between the two countries have undergone profound structural changes in recent decades in response to each other's internal transformations," explained Carlota García Encina, senior researcher in Transatlantic Relations at the Real Instituto Elcano, and author of the report "Spain-U.S. Relations" presented by the think tank during a virtual session on Thursday. 

Despite the current good harmony in relations between the two countries, García Encina warns that nothing can be taken for granted. "There are some doubts on the part of the United States Government towards the Spanish Executive because of the presence of Podemos. There is a great fear that this close bilateral relationship will be affected," said the researcher. 

For Jaime Malet, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Spain, the relationship with the American giant is vital to the expansion of Spain's international trade. "This is an asymmetric relationship and Spain has to show some humility with respect to the position it can play in Latin America. The United States already has many ties with the subcontinent and more commercial ties than Spain," Malet said. 

With respect to the role of the United States in Europe, Luis Simón, a researcher at the Real Instituto Elcano, believes that in the coming years there will be a withdrawal of U.S. foreign policy from the Old Continent. "This does not mean that they will withdraw, but their influence will be more subtle each time and will swing towards Asia", said Simón. 

"The United States has decided to close in a little more on its borders. It wants to rebalance its balance of payment and this is generating trade conflicts all over the world," said political scientist Sebastián Royo. The uncertainty for investors in this context is total, to which must be added the great uncertainty arising from the coronavirus pandemic. 

Currently, relations between the two countries are not at their best due to tariffs and trade warfare. The pandemic is not helping at the moment. 31% of Spaniards believe that the image of the United States has worsened during this pandemic. "We can't wait for the November 2020 elections to strengthen relations with the United States, we have to work on them first," said García Encina. The author of the report believes that the United States is immersed in a paradigm shift in its foreign policy that will modify its relations with the rest of the world and will also have effects on its relations with Spain.