The Spain U.S. Chamber Of Commerce

About Us

Chairman's Message & President’s Letter

Message from our Chairman Ms. Margarita Oliva

 

   Ms. Margarita Oliva
  Bio Ms. Margarita Oliva

For the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce, 2010 launches as a year full of opportunities: we start our next fifty years full of renewed energy, with many projects and new goals to achieve. 

During the last fifty years, the Chamber has been consistently supporting the commercial relations between Spain and the US and fostering its members' business interests, creating an always increasing international network that is key to guarantee a more solid and efficient business infrastructure between the two countries.

As a road map for the year, we will focus on the most vibrant industrial sectors at the moment: renewable energy and infrastructure projects.

As an example of the rapid evolution of Spanish companies in the US renewables market, Miguel Sebastián, of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, opened in 2009 the Wind Power exhibition in Chicago, the most important of this subsector in the US.  In his inaugural speech, he highlighted renewable energies as a key component of the Spanish current and future energy model.  Minister Sebastián also stressed that Spain is the largest foreign direct investor in wind power and the third largest producer (globally) of installed wind power, after Germany and the US.  Moreover, President Obama committed, as part of his electoral platform, to create five million clean energy related jobs through an investment of US$15 billion during the next decade. Federal goals for renewable energies amount to 10% of the total energy production in 2012 and 25% in 2025, in the US.

In this scenario, Spanish companies need to take advantage of their market leadership to consolidate their presence in the US, the first world market for renewable energies.  Already, these companies are highly regarded and acquiring first rate projects in the US.

In the infrastructure sector, more and more Spanish companies are present at any important infrastructure project in the US, leading the way for other European companies to access the US market.  In the presentation by Minister Sebastián to Secretary of transportation Ray Lahood of the Made in Spain plan, he advocated for the participation of Spanish companies in the infrastructure investment projects contemplated by the new administration.  In this regard, the US will invest over US$10 billion in high speed railroad network for which Spain is the European sector leader.

The recent Stimulus Plan from the Obama Administration and the ever-increasing need from the states, counties and municipalities to look for viable options to increase, maintain and operate their roads, hospitals, universities, prisons, airports and passenger and cargo transportation present unequivocal and real business opportunities for Spanish companies.  Some of the companies already working in the US are: Abertis, Acciona, ACS, Ferrovial, Globalvia, Isolux-Corsan, OHL and Sacyr in infrastructures; Prointec and Aztec Typsa in engineering and; CAF, Talgo, Vossloh España, Sepsa, KLK, Ikusi and Prointec in the railway sector.  We hope to see a new number of medium-size companies operating in the renewable and infrastructure sectors in the US market during 2010.

Another of our key focuses in business institutional relations is the Hispanic Business community with whom we have always had a fluid relationship but with which the Chamber will actively cooperate and devote part of its strategic efforts.
New census figures show a remarkable increase (by 58 per cent) in the Hispanic population in the US in the last decade. This will have a strong impact on the US domestic and foreign policy.  In fact, this factor is already having an impact as a greater number of voters are more interested in matters such as immigration, free trade within the Americas and foreign aid into the Latin American region.  As such, many governments in Latin America, with a clear view of the importance of the Hispanic population in the US, are trying to build bridges with their communities in the US to join forces in their lobby efforts.

No doubt this is the time and place for the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce to expand on its mission and help build links among communities with a strong common cultural and values background: the Hispanic, the Latin American and the Spanish communities.  We will do so by intensifying our efforts in New York and Washington and working with the organizations more representative of such interest groups and delivering our voice to the appropriate policy makers. 

We see 2010 as a year of a clear opportunity for our institution to build upon its 50-year foundation but with a clear understanding of the new socio-economic reality and prospects of the US. As the Chairman of the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce, I am proud to say that I believe our Executive Committee, Board of Directors and staff are well prepared and very capable of continuing to foster the commercial and investment relations between the US and Spain and successfully overcoming any challenges that may lay ahead.

Margarita Oliva
Chairman