Algeria Lifts Trade Restrictions on Spain, Signaling Potential Thaw in Relations

The Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABEF) of Algeria announced on Friday the lifting of restrictions on the withdrawal of goods and services from and to Spain, decreed on June 9. In a recent statement, it explained that this measure "does not target import or export operations of goods and services from Spain or of Spanish origin domiciled before June 9."

"There is a return to normal, we must put aside political feelings to see the economic reality. I think there has been an arbitration to assess the situation, because many Algerian companies have also suffered [from this measure], especially those importing industrial and agri-food equipment," Djamel Eddine Bouabdallah, president of the Algerian-Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAE), told EFE on Friday, hoping that the lifting of the measure will be "permanent."

The crisis between Algeria and Spain was born after Pedro Sanchez decided in March to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara. It worsened on June 8, with Algeria’s suspension of the treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain, thus blocking trade between the two countries, with the exception of Algerian gas exports. A decision that was condemned by the European Union.