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The Basque Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructure, Arantxa Tapia, will preside over the opening ceremony, which comes at a time of uncertainty in light of Brexit.  The United Kingdom is one of the first export destinations for Basque companies, being among the top 5 over the last ten years.  The Basque Government delegation will meet with a dozen Basque companies established in the UK on April 6 and will visit the Rolls Royce facilities. 

Vitoria-Gasteiz.   According to an official note, a delegation form the Basque Government led by the Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructure, Arantxa Tabpia, will travel to the United Kingdome this week in hopes of opening a new commercial office of Euskadi in London.

This will be a short trip but the agenda is intense with the delegation meeting a group of Basque companies that have become established in this market, including the inauguration of a new office, meetings with institutional representatives, as well as officials form the British Parliament, as well as a trip to Derby to visit the Rolls Royce facilities where they will meet with the heads of the company along with representatives of ITP.

Along with Minister Tapia, the delegation will also be comprised of the Vice-Minister of Industry, Javier Zarraonaindia, director of Internationalization, Ainhoa Ondarzabal; the Director General of SPRI, Alex Arriola, and the Director of Internationalization of SPRI, Miren Madinabeitia.

Office in London to support Basque companies

The note also included that the Basque Government, in the spirit of internationalization and the opening of new markets, has decided to explore the British market in depth over the past year with the intention of giving greater support to Basque companies and to establish closer relations with certain strategic companies located in London and its surrounding area that are of special interest for suppliers and auxiliary companies from Euskadi.  Companies, mainly automotive, aeronautics, energy and railways.

The new office is located in a business environment favorable to its functions and joins the external network of SPRI, currently comprised, all over the world by a total of 16 commercial delegations.

The opening of the office is at an especially relevant time from the institutional, social and economic point of view, as well as a time of uncertainty in light of the decision made by the United Kingdom to exit from the European Union.

In this sense, the goals of the implementation of the office and the incorporation of human resources to it, will be the same as in the rest of the countries where the Basque Government is represented through SPRI.  The functions of the technical and human resources that are already present today, will be to facilitate commercial relations with Basque companies as exporters, or with commercial and/or productive establishments in the country.  Also, a network of contact with local and international representatives will be woven to favor Basque companies’ activity in the United Kingdom.

Commercial relationship Euskadi-UK

The UK is one of the first destinations for exports by Basque companies being among the top five over the last ten years.

Basque exports in the UK have maintained a fairly stable volume, with some ups and downs, especially in 2009, and have recovered above the pre-crisis figures although in 2016 it did suffer a decline of 8.48%.

In 2016, the UK was number four in the ranking of countries to which Euskadi sent exports, bringing the turnover to almost 1,300 million Euros, while imports stood at 815 million Euros.

In regards to imports, the behavior is more irregular, although it also coincides with a fall in imports in 2009 and 2013, and a huge increase in 2014 and 2015, with a drastic decrease in 2016 largely explained by oil and gas imports from the UK.

The trade balance with the United Kingdom is clearly positive for Eusakdi in every year, except for 2014 and 2015, due to the aforementioned oil and gas imports.