Jaime Malet, Chairperson of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Spain (AmChamSpain), believes that Spain holds a "strategic position" on the world map, and therefore must cement its position as one of the main destinations for European and US investment in Europe, especially in key sectors such as semiconductors, data centres, artificial intelligence, green energy (especially hydrogen and its by-products and vehicle electrification), biomedicine, cybersecurity, etc.
He also believes that Spanish companies need to expand and increase their capacity in the United States. Malet said this at the opening of the conference "Global Trends 2023: Energy, Technology and Friendshoring in Times of Global Turbulences", organised in collaboration with Europa Press, with the participation of more than 30 senior executives and top managers of international companies, held today in Madrid.
Malet also pointed out that "we are living in a time of profound transformation and change, with challenges that affect all companies and sectors. The war in Europe, the technology boom, the incursion of artificial intelligence and environmental challenges are accelerating processes and moving the goalposts. AmChamSpain is at the forefront of all these challenges, helping increase opportunities and boost growth in our country," he said.
"Our institution's main objective is to help improve Spain's competitiveness, productivity and internationalisation, to foster investment and trade between the US and Spain, and to promote technology transfer," he said.
Malet also stated that "the world is on its way to being divided into two blocs. Spain should be in the bloc of countries that defend values such as democracy, the rule of law and citizens' freedom. Europe must align itself with the US and recover the idea of generating a space of regulatory security, safe exchange of goods and a level playing field for exports from the US to Europe and vice versa. I always defended the failed free trade and investment agreement between Europe and the United States", he said.
