EU-US battle over Spanish olive tariffs at standstill

The European Commission will continue to abide by the divisive US tariffs on Spanish black olives, while EU lawmakers and Spanish producers are seeking more EU support with legal fees and losses. On Monday (9 January), MEPs in the European Parliament’s agriculture committee (AGRI) discussed with the EU executive and industry representatives the ongoing tariffs imposed by the US on ripe olives from Spain. The US is the principal export destination for Spanish olives, accounting for up to 35% of the American export market share. However, Washington imposed tariffs in 2018 on imports of the olives, claiming that a disproportionate amount of EU subsidies directed to Spanish olive producers – the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – were harming their US counterparts. The legal battle following the US imposition of countervailing and anti-dumping duties on Spanish olives has been going on for over four years without significant changes in practice. In November 2021, the World Trade ...