MADRID: Spanish exports managed to dodge the slowdown in world trade in the first half of the year. According to the latest data from the World Trade Organisation, exports from the 70 biggest economies (which account for 90% of global GDP) fell 5.6% to 6.4 trillion euros in the first half of 2016 from a year earlier, the lowest level since 2011. In this context, the growth rate of Spanish exports (2.4% year-on-year in the first half) has been the largest of the economies. This is thanks to the competitiveness achieved by Spanish companies as a result of the drop in oil prices and the trend in inflation in the first few months of the year.
That said, Spain is not the only country where exports are on the rise. Germany is behind it with growth of 1.59%, Poland with 1.46% and Switzerland with 1.4%. The main explanation for the these figures is the trade endogamy within the European Union. The first three countries are part of that, while Switzerland is not. But it maintains privileged relationships thanks to over 120 bilateral agreements.
The sale of goods from Spain overseas, this time in the first seven months of the year, marked another record: 149 billion euros, a figure unheard of up to now.
