Amid rising global uncertainty, trade tensions with the United States are resurfacing. As background, in 2018 the EU responded to Trump's tariffs by imposing levies of 25% on more than 180 products. This had a lasting effect on the pattern of Spanish imports, although the overall economic impact remained limited.

During the 2019-2022 period, sales of goods abroad have performed similarly to those seen in the rest of Europe (5.4% vs. 8.1% recorded in Europe), while it is exports of services that have shown the greatest increase (+33.9% in Spain vs. 10.1%).