Spanish Exports to Algeria Plummet 89% After Sahara Dispute

Spain continues to pay the price of its support for Morocco in the Sahara conflict. In reaction to this support for the Moroccan autonomy plan announced in March 2022, Algeria had suspended its treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain, effectively freezing trade exchanges between the two countries, recalls El Nacional.

As of the end of June 2023, Spain exported 95.4 million euros worth of products to Algeria, compared to 911.7 million in 2022 or 955.1 million in 2021, according to data from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism presented in its latest monthly report on foreign trade, noting that Spanish exports to Africa fell by 7.6% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 due to the drop in exports to Algeria.

The Spanish authorities are trying to normalize the situation that has been ongoing for more than a year. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, went to Brussels at the beginning of the year to request an intervention from the European Commission, arguing that Algeria would be violating the association agreement with the European Union. But for the moment, Brussels has not taken any concrete action, inviting the two countries to dialogue to resolve the conflict.

The Spanish government announced in June that it would allocate up to 200,000 euros in aid to businessmen affected by the Algerian trade blockade. For their part, the affected merchants (about fifteen SMEs) have created the Association of Companies Affected by the Algerian Crisis (AECA) to demand from the State the compensation for the damages suffered due to Sanchez’s political decision to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara.