Spain’s trade and direct investments with Brazil in the period 2001-2011

The aim of this article is to analyse Spain’s trade and direct investments with Brazil in the first decade of the 21st century. In the period 2001-2011, Brazil’s economy has been the main destination of the direct investments of Spanish financial institutions and firms, and Brazil is Spain’s second-largest trading partner in the region, after Mexico. The evaluation forecast of opportunities and strategic risks for the Spanish economy (drafted for this study by the Real Instituto Elcano) clearly shows the importance Brazil has acquired over the past 17 years. As a result of all this, Brazil is today more than ever a strategic country for Spain, both in terms of its prospects for growth and its opportunities for investment, concessions and trade. It is, therefore, a key country in the strategy of internationalisation of Spanish economic agents.