Success Stories
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Ambassador Solomonts Leads a Roundtable Discussion at the Embassy
On November 16, the Ambassador led a roundtable discussion at the Embassy with about 20 entrepreneurs, business students and faculty to discuss what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in Spain. The participants generally agreed Spain needs to do more to support entrepreneurship and offered a number of specific ideas on how that could be done. Ideas raised included changing the tax code to encourage angel investing and new start-ups, creating a regulatory framework that facilitates offering stock options to employees in start-ups, and making labor laws more flexible. Economic reporters covering entrepreneurship issues participated in the roundtable and their articles will provide a larger audience for the discussion.
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Ambassador Solomont Gives a Keynote Address at an Entrepreneurship Conference
On November 15 Ambassador Solomont gave a well-received keynote address at an Entrepreneurship Conference organized by the IE Business School (one of the top ten business schools in the world) to about 300 students, academics, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. The conference also included IE’s “Venture Lab” in which top student teams presented start-up project proposals. The Ambassador’s remarks centered on the different elements needed to establish a robust entrepreneurship ecosystem, with a special focus on the financial, cultural and policy elements. That evening the Ambassador hosted a reception for 100+ guests including IE students, faculty and outside entrepreneurial experts involved in Venture Lab competition, as well as successful Spanish entrepreneurs and government officials involved in supporting entrepreneurship. The Ambassador offered remarks at the reception focused on the challenges Spain faces in supporting entrepreneurship.
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Embassy Officials Promote U.S.-Spanish Trade in Spain’s Wine Country
Ambassador Solomont and Agricultural Attaché Robert Hanson visited Logroño in April to support increasing ties between the U.S. and Spanish wine regions. As one indicator of this close relationship, the majority of the 1.3 million barrels located in Rioja’s vineyards are made from U.S. oak trees.
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Key Spanish and U.S. Investment Leaders Celebrate CASE Week
Ambassador Solomont launched the seventh edition of CASE Week, which celebrates Spain’s work with the Council of American States in Europe (CASE), an organization that includes full time representatives from 15 U.S. states looking to promote business connections. This annual event is hosted by Spain’s largest business association, the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE) as a way to promote trade and investment ties between the U.S. and Spain.
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50 Letters for 50 States
In the last week of April, Ambassador Solomont sent a personal letter to the governor of every State encouraging them to look to Spanish businesses as possible investment partners. The Ambassador offered Mission Spain’s full support. Less than two months later, two states have already sent trade delegations looking for opportunities to collaborate.
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Working with the AmCham Spain to Promote Innovation
On May 29, AmCham Spain hosted a successful conference on the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) for innovation attended by over 150 business and government representatives. Conference participants discussed the important of strong IPR laws to encourage innovation. Visiting Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Kira Alvarez was a featured speaker at the conference and Ambassador Solomont opened the conference. Both lauded Spain for taking steps against internet piracy and encourage further action to help Spain become competitive in the global competition for innovation.
Contact Us
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Embassy: Phone: +34 91 587 2200
Embassy: Fax: +34 91 587 2303
US Commercial Service Madrid, Spain
Acting Counselor for Commercial Affairs: Henley Jones
Phone: +34 91 564 8976
Fax: +34 91 563 0859
E-mail: madrid.office.box@trade.gov
Foreign Agricultural Service Madrid, Spain
Counselor for Agricultural Affairs: Robert Hanson
Phone: +34-91-587-2555
Fax: +34-91-587-2556
Email: agmadrid@fas.usda.gov
Counselor, Economic and Commercial Affairs
Counselor for Economic Affairs: Steve Liston
Phone: +34 91 587 2200
Fax: +34 91 587 2303