Spain sees it as an opportunity:
AMERICAN companies are not the only ones hoping for a boost from Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. Spanish firms are also positioning themselves to benefit from what they call el Plan Obama. Other foreign companies are jostling for some of the $317 billion of intended spending, but Spain is the only country to have built a campaign around it.
The country’s golden couple, crown prince Don Felipe and his wife Letizia, launched a “Made in/Made by Spain” campaign in New York last month to put Spanish firms on the map. The scale of the opportunity is “extraordinary”, says Spain’s industry minister, Miguel Sebastian. He reckons Spanish firms are eligible for at least $71 billion of contracts. That is as much as Spain is spending on its own €50 billion ($67 billion) stimulus package, which has failed to prevent unemployment from topping 15%. The figure is expected to hit 20% as the country suffers a painful comedown from its construction-led boom. Spanish officials hope extra business in America will help make up for a lack of growth at home.
