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Doing Business in Spain
 

President Obama announced the National Export Initiative (NEI) two years ago, with the goal of doubling exports by 2014. U.S. embassies are committed to supporting U.S. companies to start exporting or grow their exports to Spain. In this section, you’ll find a quick description of Spain as an export market and some suggestions for getting started.

Getting Started with Exporting to Spain

The U.S Commercial Service offers services in order to support U.S. companies searching for business partners in Spain. The U.S. Commercial Service offers several ways to grow your international sales:

  1. Visit www.export.gov/spain to get an overview of economic conditions and opportunities. Access the U.S. Commercial Service Market Research Library containing more than 100,000 industry and country-specific market reports, authored by our specialists working in overseas posts. Visit www.export.gov/spain to get an overview of economic conditions and opportunities.

    The Library Includes:  

    • Country Commercial Guides (read latest “Doing Business In” guides)
    • Industry Overviews* 
    • Market Updates* 
    • Multilateral Development Bank Reports* 
    • Best Markets* 
    • Industry/Regional Reports*
  2. Contact your local U.S. Export Assistance Center for advice and support on exporting to Spain.
  3. Contact a Trade Specialist Near You.

    Other services:

  4. Contact your local Small Business Development Center (SBDCs). Starting a business can be a challenge, but there is help for you in your area. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are partnerships primarily between the government and colleges/universities administered by the Small Business Administration and aims at giving educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.  
  5. Contact in-country business support organizations such as the Spain-U.S. American Chamber of Commerce.  
  6. Make use of business matchmaking services.

     
Investing in Spain

This section provides information for current and potential investors in Spain.

Potential Investors: Getting Started

If you are considering investment in Spain, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:

 
Current investors: Staying Connected

If you are a current U.S. investor in Spain, the U.S Embassy wants to stay in touch. Here are a few steps you can take to keep the channels of communication open:

 
Working in Spain

In this section you will find information on business visas, travel advisories, and anti-corruption tools.

Business Visas

For information on obtaining a visa to visit Spain, visit the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Travel Advisories

Make sure to check the current State Department travel advisory for Spain.  

FCPA

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is an important anti-corruption tool designed to discourage corrupt business practices in favor of free and fair markets.  The FCPA prohibits promising, offering, giving or authorizing giving anything of value to a foreign government official where the purpose is to obtain or retain business.  These prohibitions apply to U.S. persons, both individuals and companies, and companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges. The statute also requires companies publicly traded in the U.S. to keep accurate books and records and implement appropriate internal controls.   

More information on the FCPA can be found here: http://www.fcpa.us/

A party to a transaction seeking to know whether a proposed course of conduct would violate the FCPA can take advantage of the opinion procedure established by the statue.  Within 30 days of receiving a description of a proposed course of conduct in writing, the Attorney General will provide the party with a written opinion on whether the proposed conduct would violate the FCPA.  Not only do opinions provide the requesting party with a rebuttable presumption that the conduct does not violate the FCPA, but DOJ publishes past opinions which can provide guidance for other companies facing similar situations.

More information on the DOJ opinion procedure can be found here: http://www.morganlewis.com/documents/fcpa/FCPAOpinionProcedureReleases.pdf (PDF - 136K)

Contact Us

  • 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

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