- The President of the Junta has defended the position of the Community alongside the European Union by appealing to dialogue and consensus among national political and economic forces, as well as among all autonomous communities to address this situation.
- The regional government will promote a common strategy in response to the tariff policy through Social Dialogue, political parties represented in the Courts of Castilla y León, local entities, and affected productive sectors.
April 10, 2025
Castilla y León | President of the Junta de Castilla y León
The President of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, participated on Thursday in the closing of the forum ‘Spain in the geopolitical storm: industry and power in the Trump era’, organized by TRESCA Ingeniería in Valladolid.
During his speech, Fernández Mañueco highlighted the active role that Castilla y León must play in the current geopolitical crisis, from unity and with a strong economic strategy. In this context, he defended the position of the Community alongside the European Union, whose historical, cultural, and values have always been its reference.
The current international situation, with the announcement of tariffs causing unpredictable effects, creates a climate of uncertainty directly affecting priority sectors for Castilla y León such as automotive, agri-food, capital goods, chemical-pharmaceutical industry, aerospace, and steel, among others. All this at a time when the Community led the growth of exports and industrial production in 2024 at the national level.
In this context, the head of the regional government called for a serious, sincere, and immediate dialogue among national political and economic forces, as well as with all autonomous communities, to provide a coordinated response to this situation. Likewise, he pointed out that the Spanish Government must implement more specific actions based on consensus and institutional understanding.
Specifically, the President of the Junta recalled the meeting held on Thursday between the Ministry of Economy and the autonomous communities, in which Castilla y León participated with the will for agreement and collaboration to defend workers and entrepreneurs, providing useful proposals for the affected sectors. Among them, he mentioned bonuses in Social Security contributions and Corporate Tax, as well as the creation of a specific fund for productive sectors with the resources generated by any new tariffs that the European Union may establish.
On the other hand, the Junta de Castilla y León will promote a common strategy in response to this tariff policy through Social Dialogue, political parties represented in the Courts of Castilla y León, local entities, and affected productive sectors, whom the President has summoned on April 15 to coordinate new joint actions. Additionally, the regional government approved a first package of support measures for companies and workers last week, including assistance for financing and internationalization, promoting competitiveness, boosting external network, and opening up to new markets, among others.
Regarding the agri-food sector, Fernández Mañueco emphasized the need to ensure access to basic products in Europe, with a strong response against global competition and tariffs. He also called for less bureaucracy from the European Union so that farmers and breeders have more capacity to respond to tariff attacks on their products.
Furthermore, the Junta maintains a strong commitment to its own sustainable energy sources, crucial due to Europe’s high dependence on external resources. In this sense, the President of the regional government highlighted that Castilla y León is a leader in clean energies, with over 95% of the Community’s production coming from renewables, only surpassed globally by Norway. An essential sector, as he assured, for the present and future of Europe.
In line with the above, it is also essential to ensure a rational exploitation of strategic raw materials. Castilla y León will leverage its enormous potential in this area, combining development and job creation opportunities with the preservation of the natural environment and the protection of workers. The goal is for this wealth to serve as a foundation for companies to develop the entire value chain within the Community.
Fernández Mañueco also highlighted the Junta’s firm commitment to research and innovation, and Castilla y León’s leading position in these areas, ranking among the five most innovative Spanish communities and being the third most advanced in R&D in the past seven years, according to EU data. Among other examples, the Community boasts the second most powerful supercomputer in Spain, promoting the transfer of knowledge from the University to businesses.
Finally, the President of the Junta sent a message of optimism, appealing to the experience, will, and talent of Castilla y León, Spain, and Europe, convinced that with the great capacity of entrepreneurs and workers, it will be possible to overcome the current challenges.