New support measures for companies facing the effects of tariffs: Royal Decree-Law 4/2025

An economic response to a complex global context

Royal Decree-Law 4/2025, published in the BOE on April 9, 2025, aims to shield Spanish companies from the impact of increased U.S. tariffs. It sets out a framework of economic, financial, and strategic support, particularly for export-oriented businesses.

The decree is structured around three core pillars:

1. Promotion of productive investment

2. Provision of liquidity

3. Support for export activity

Measures to ensure liquidity and business stability

One of the key tools introduced is a public guarantee line to support business financing, detailed in the Resolution of April 22, 2025, which regulates the first tranche of guarantees.

Additional measures aim to safeguard business stability:

• Extension of the period for absorbing COVID-19-related losses, to avoid automatic dissolution.

• Option to revise annual accounts already approved before the decree came into force, offering temporary corporate flexibility.

Strengthening export capacity

To reinforce Spain’s international trade capacity, the decree includes:

• An increase of €200 million in FIEM, bringing the total to €700 million, to support foreign export and investment projects.

• An additional €20 million in non-reimbursable funds, to finance strategic commercial initiatives and diversification efforts in third countries.

• Expansion of CESCE’s maximum credit insurance limit, from €9 billion to €15 billion, allowing €2 billion in immediate coverage for projects affected by U.S. tariffs.

Reform of the CARI system, now publicly financed to provide more stable protection against interest rate volatility and improve access to credit.