Artículo de revista ; This article analyses, by region, the trade exposure of Spanish firms to the United Kingdom, based on individual information from the Balance of Payments and the Central Balance Sheet Data Office. Exposure to the UK economy shows some regional variability. Since 2016 there has been a fairly widespread downward trend of this exposure in terms both of nominal exports of goods to the United Kingdom and of the number of companies engaging in this activity. The vulnerability of Spanish export companies to Brexit is, in part, moderated in broad terms by their productivity levels and by the degree of geographical diversification of their exports, which are higher than at firms which trade with the main euro area partners.
Artículo de revista ; The rise in global protectionist tensions in recent years has, after decades of across-the-board declines, entailed increases in tariffs that are proving detrimental to international trade and thereby affecting the Spanish economy's external sector outlook. This article estimates the effect of tariffs on Spanish non-energy, non-EU goods exports drawing on data broken down by country of destination and type of product. The results show that an increase in tariffs adversely impacts both export possibilities and, persistently, export values. On the estimates made, a 1% increase in import tariffs imposed by another country on a Spanish product entails a reduction in nominal exports of around 0.6%. Protectionist risks underscore the role of the EU in promoting international trade agreements, such as those recently entered into with Japan, Canada and Mercosur.
Artículo de revista ; The trade exposure of Spanish firms to the United Kingdom is significant, albeit lower than that to the main euro area countries. In 2017 the growth in Spanish firms' goods exports to the UK market that dated back to 2012 came to an end, against a background of sterling depreciation against the euro. The potential vulnerability of Spanish firms with a presence in the UK market to Brexit is somewhat limited by their distinctive characteristics ; these companies are on average larger, more productive and more geographically diversified than those that export to the main euro area countries. In any event, the ultimate impact of this process on Spanish firms with a presence in the United Kingdom or with the potential to gain access to this market will largely depend on the terms eventually established for trade relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union
El período de negociación posterior al referéndum sobre el brexit de 2016 se caracterizó por una elevada incertidumbre en relación con el nuevo marco de las relaciones bilaterales entre la Unión Europea y el Reino Unido, especialmente en el caso de ciertos sectores y empresas muy expuestos al mercado británico. En este contexto, el presente documento explora si una parte del comercio español con el Reino Unido fue desviada a mercados alternativos tras el referéndum. Según los resultados, aquellas empresas con una exposición elevada al mercado británico (más del 10 % de las compras y ventas exteriores) pudieron compensar casi plenamente las caídas de compras y ventas experimentadas en ese mercado principalmente por el acceso a otros países europeos. Sin embargo, la respuesta del resto de las empresas habría sido heterogénea. La sustitución de mercados resultó más limitada en las importaciones que en las exportaciones, así como en empresas de mayor tamaño. ; During the long process of negotiation after the 2016 Brexit referendum there was a high uncertainty about the final shape of bilateral trade relations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), especially for particular sectors and firms. Given this context, the paper explores whether a fraction of Spanish trade with the UK was diverted to other markets after the referendum as a function of Spanish firms' exposition to the British market. The paper shows that firms more exposed to that particular market (above 10% of foreign sales and purchases) were able to almost fully divert the shock in their sales and purchases, mostly to other European countries. Instead, there was an heterogeneous responses of Spanish firms with a low share of British bilateral flows over total trade. Given a particular share, trade diversion appears to be more limited for imports relative to exports and for big companies.
Artículo de revista ; According to the balance of payments (BoP) statistics, in an environment of ongoing economic upturn, Spain was once again a net lender in 2018, albeit to a lesser extent than in preceding years. The decline in net lending is explained by the decrease in the goods and services surplus, which largely reflected the slowdown in external markets, the negative impact on exports of the cumulative euro appreciation since 2017 and the rise in oil prices. The nation's net lending, the positive amount of other flows and GDP growth were conducive to a decline in the Spanish economy's negative net international investment position (IIP), as a percentage of GDP, for the fourth year in succession. In terms of financial flows, international investors made net purchases under the portfolio investment (mainly, long-term bonds issued by general government) and direct investment headings in 2018, a sign of their continuing confidence in the Spanish economy, despite the deterioration in the global macro-financial scenario in the second half of the year. However, the fact that the Spanish economy's negative net IIP remains high (77.1% of GDP), both historically and by international standards, makes it vulnerable to shocks in the international capital markets
Artículo de revista ; According to the balance of payments statistics, Spain's net lending stood at 2.3% as a percentage of GDP in 2019, slightly down on the prior year, against a backdrop of continued, albeit slowing, economic growth. Developments in net lending are explained by the reduction in the capital account surplus, resulting from the decrease in funds from the EU, stagnation in tourism receipts as a percentage of GDP and the widening of the deficit on non-energy goods, which offset the improvement in the energy balance prompted by the decline in oil prices. There has been an abrupt change in the outlook for the economy's external balance as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis, with major uncertainty in the near future about the scale (and even sign) of its effects on this balance, against a backdrop of a drastic reduction in the foreign goods and services trade. For the time being, the information on the balance of payments relating to March shows a net borrowing position, for the first time in that month since 2012, associated with the sharp fall in tourism receipts caused by the measures to restrict movement adopted in Spain and in source countries. Future developments in inbound tourism, in particular, will depend greatly on how quickly restrictions on movement are lifted. This, in turn, hinges both on how the pandemic continues to unfold and on risk perception, which could lead potential tourists to voluntarily adopt social distancing measures. In 2019, the negative net international investment position of the Spanish economy decreased for the fifth year running, to stand at 74% of GDP, its lowest level since 2006. These developments, which represented the biggest fall in the last seven years, were underpinned by the nation's net lending position, the positive amount of valuation effects and GDP growth. In terms of financial flows, excluding the Banco de España, the surplus balance of financial transactions of the Spanish economy was lower than in 2018, influenced by the rise in purchases of general government debt by international investors, which was only partially offset by the fall in foreign direct investment inflows. For the first time since 2014, the financial account of the Banco de España showed a surplus, affected by certain changes in the implementation of the ECB's monetary policy.
Artículo de revista ; On balance of payments statistics, in 2021 Spain's net lending amounted to 1.8% of GDP (1.2% in 2020). This increase mainly reflected the partial recovery in the travel surplus, thanks to the improvement in the epidemiological situation prompted by the headway in vaccination, and the widening of the capital account surplus, boosted by the credits corresponding to Next Generation EU. This countered the deterioration in the goods deficit, against the backdrop of the rising energy bill. Meanwhile, Spain's negative net international investment position decreased significantly (to 70.4% of GDP, its lowest level since 2006), thanks to the positive financial transactions with the rest of the world and, to a greater degree, GDP growth and the increase in value of external financial assets. Conversely, Spain's gross external debt reached another all-time high (€2,329 billion) due to the assumption of new liabilities, particularly by general government and the Banco de España. However, it fell as a percentage of GDP thanks to economic growth.
Artículo de revista ; The effective departure of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) opens up a new period of relations between the two areas. The current health crisis limits economic policies' room for manoeuvre to accommodate the costs of transitioning to a new economic relationship, whatever final form it may take. This article describes the most recent developments in the negotiation process and outlines three possible scenarios for the future EU-UK trading relationship, providing simulations of the potential macroeconomic impact in each case. Moreover, the recent trend in trading and financial relations between the United Kingdom and Spain is set out in a box.
Tras casi tres años desde que se anunciara la celebración del referéndum sobre la permanencia del Reino Unido en la Unión Europea (UE) y dos de intensas negociaciones entre las partes, la no ratificación del Parlamento británico del acuerdo alcanzado por su Gobierno y por el resto de los socios europeos en noviembre del año pasado ha dado lugar a una situación extraordinariamente compleja, en la que, a escasos días de que se cumpla el plazo para la salida del Reino Unido establecido con la activación del artículo 50, no se vislumbra todavía un plan de consenso. A falta de una alternativa pactada, la salida sin acuerdo en la fecha prevista constituye —salvo prórroga— la actual opción por defecto. Este documento ocasional hace balance de la situación actual y de las perspectivas que se abren en relación con el proceso de salida del Reino Unido de la UE, y recopila y actualiza algunos trabajos que se han venido realizando, en relación con el seguimiento regular de dicho proceso y con la estimación de sus potenciales efectos en la economía española, en la Dirección General de Economía y Estadística del Banco de España. Tras tomar nota del momento actual del proceso negociador, el documento revisa la evolución de la economía británica desde que se anunciara el inesperado resultado del referéndum en junio de 2016, así como las perspectivas económicas a medio plazo del país, que dependerán ante todo del tipo de relación comercial que se establezca en un futuro entre ambas áreas, así como de la manera más o menos abrupta en que se produzca la salida. En relación con nuestro país, en este documento se analizan diversos aspectos relativos a la exposición comercial y financiera de la economía española al Reino Unido, y se estiman, mediante el modelo trimestral del Banco de España (MTBE), los posibles efectos que el brexit podría tener sobre nuestra economía en diversos escenarios hipotéticos. Finalmente, se recuerdan las medidas de contingencia que la Comisión Europa y el Gobierno de España han adoptado, en sus respectivos ámbitos, ante la eventualidad de que la salida del Reino Unido se produjera sin acuerdo y de forma brusca. ; Almost three years on since the Brexit referendum and two since the intense negotiations between the parties began, the failure by the British Parliament to ratify the November 2018 agreement between the UK Government and the other EU governments has led to a situation of great complexity. With only a few days remaining until the deadline for withdrawal, no consensus plan has emerged yet. Without an alternative plan, a no-deal exit is – excepting postponement – the current default option. This Occasional Paper takes stock of the current situation and outlook for Brexit (i.e. the process of UK withdrawal from the EU) by drawing together a number of studies produced at the Banco de España in connection with the regular monitoring of the process and its potential effects on the Spanish economy. After noting where the current negotiations stand, the paper reviews UK economic developments since the surprise result of the referendum was announced in June 2016. It further lays out the medium-term outlook for the British economy, which hinges crucially on both the type of future trade relationship to be agreed between both areas and the degree of disruption caused by the withdrawal process. As regards Spain, the paper analyses several issues related to its trade and financial exposures to the UK and also provides estimates of the potential effects of Brexit on the Spanish economy under various hypothetical scenarios using the MTBE (i.e. the quarterly macroeconometric model of the Spanish Economy regularly used at the Banco de España for forecasting and policy analysis). Finally, mention is made of the contingency measures adopted, within their respective remits, by the European Commission and the Spanish Government, in the event of an abrupt no-deal exit.
Tras casi tres años desde que se anunciara la celebración del referéndum sobre la permanencia del Reino Unido en la Unión Europea (UE) y dos de intensas negociaciones entre las partes, la no ratificación del Parlamento británico del acuerdo alcanzado por su Gobierno y por el resto de los socios europeos en noviembre del año pasado ha dado lugar a una situación extraordinariamente compleja, en la que, a escasos días de que se cumpla el plazo (el 29 de marzo de 2019) para la salida del Reino Unido establecido con la activación del artículo 50, no se vislumbra todavía un plan de consenso. a falta de una alternativa pactada, la salida sin acuerdo en la fecha prevista constituye —salvo prórroga— la actual opción por defecto. este documento ocasional hace balance de la situación actual y de las perspectivas que se abren en relación con el proceso de salida del Reino Unido de la UE, y recopila y actualiza algunos trabajos que se han venido realizando, en relación con el seguimiento regular de dicho proceso y con la estimación de sus potenciales efectos en la economía española, en la Dirección General de Economía y Estadística del Banco de España. Tras tomar nota del momento actual del proceso negociador, el documento revisa la evolución de la economía británica desde que se anunciara el inesperado resultado del referéndum en junio de 2016, así como las perspectivas económicas a medio plazo del país, que dependerán ante todo del tipo de relación comercial que se establezca en un futuro entre ambas áreas, así como de la manera más o menos abrupta en que se produzca la salida ; Almost three years on since the Brexit referendum and two since the intense negotiations between the parties began, the failure by the British Parliament to ratify the November 2018 agreement between the UK Government and the other EU governments has led to a situation of great complexity. With only a few days remaining until 29 March 2019, when the Article 50 deadline for withdrawal expires, no consensus plan has emerged yet. Without an alternative plan, a no-deal exit is – excepting postponement – the current default option. This Occasional Paper takes stock of the current situation and outlook for Brexit (i.e. the process of UK withdrawal from the EU) by drawing together a number of studies produced at the Banco de España in connection with the regular monitoring of the process and its potential effects on the Spanish economy. after noting where the current negotiations stand, the paper reviews UK economic developments since the surprise result of the referendum was announced in June 2016. It further lays out the medium-term outlook for the British economy, which hinges crucially on both the type of future trade relationship to be agreed between both areas and the degree of disruption caused by the withdrawal process. As regards Spain, the paper analyses several issues related to its trade and financial exposures to the UK and also provides estimates of the potential effects of Brexit on the Spanish economy under various hypothetical scenarios using the MTBE (i.e. the quarterly macroeconometric model of the Spanish Economy regularly used at the Banco de España for forecasting and policy analysis). Finally, mention is made of the contingency measures adopted, within their respective remits, by the European Commission and the Spanish Government, in the event of an abrupt no-deal exit
This paper summarises the economic analyses of the potential impact of Brexit on the United Kingdom, European Union (EU) and euro area performed by members of and contributors to the Brexit Task Force, a group reporting to the International Relations Committee of the European System of Central Banks. The studies were carried out between 2017 and the initial months of 2019 and have been independently published by the authors. The aim of this Occasional Paper is to present the studies in an organic manner, highlighting common features and results.
