The new threat of the EU-Mercosur agreement, it will maintain 12% tariffs on Spanish table olives but will eliminate those from South American countries

The Spanish Association of Exporters and Industrialists of Table Olives (Asemesa) has reiterated its rejection of the EU-Mercosur agreement, which it considers to be "a new threat" to a sector, that of Spanish table olives, which has been going through a very complicated situation in recent years due to the growing competition it suffers in its main markets, such as the USA, where it also has to bear tariffs on black olives. Under this agreement, Spanish olives exported to Mercosur countries will be excluded from the benefits of the Treaty, and will therefore continue to be subject to tariffs of 12.6%, while imports from South American countries will be liberalised, as import tariffs into the EU will gradually disappear from the current 12.8% until they are completely eliminated in seven years, giving rise to a serious competitive imbalance. THE AGREEMENT WOULD LOSE THE BRAZILIAN MARKET, WITH AN ANNUAL CONSUMPTION OF 120 MILLION KILOS, AND OPEN THE DOOR TO EGYPTIAN OLIVES The ...