Brussels will not pay the defence costs of Spanish olives against the USA
The European Commission (EC) will use diplomatic, political and, if necessary, legal means to protect Spanish black olive producers against the tariffs imposed by the USA, but it rules out paying the defence costs incurred, a member of the Community executive said on Monday.
The issue was discussed in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, where the president of Agro Sevilla, Gabriel Cabello, explained the situation of the sector to MEPs and asked for, among other measures, “specific aid for the defence costs” of producers, which amount to “more than 15 million euros”.
He also called for “proactive diplomacy” to implement the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling against US tariffs and a “line” of aid for international promotion to help “open up new markets”.
John Clarke of the EC’s Directorate-General for Agriculture denounced the US attitude as “a case of blatant protectionism” and said it was “unacceptable that they are in breach of their WTO obligations”.
He also stressed that the tariffs on black olives “are not a Spanish problem, but an EU problem, because they attack the aid system of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)”.
The EC representative recalled that the EU has instruments to help the sector, including Rural Development aid, “the promotion instrument, useful for diversifying markets” and the so-called “de minimis aid”, which allows a member country to give up to 200 million euros over three years to processors and transformers.
However, he made it clear that it cannot fund legal costs for producers.
“It would not be feasible for the EC to provide direct financial support to cover producers’ legal costs. That is where domestic rules come into play, we don’t have that capacity,” the EC representative said.
However, he said that Brussels would “consider all avenues”, both political and legal, to end the tariffs, giving priority to diplomacy but “if necessary”, turning to a WTO compliance panel.
Spanish EPP member Juan Ignacio Zoido supported the claims of the Spanish sector and stressed that the tariffs “threaten all European products by calling into question the CAP”.
Spanish Socialist Clara Aguilera said that the US is buying olives in bulk “so that they can carry out the industrial process and take the added value” and called for “more proactive diplomacy and aid to support what Spanish producers are paying”.
Vox MEP Mazaly Aguilar also stressed that the issue should be raised “not as a Spanish problem but as an EU problem”.
At the end of the debate, Cabello said he was “happy and calmer” after hearing MEPs back the Spanish sector and stressed that it is “important for rural families in southern Spain that this problem is resolved as soon as possible”.
The US has imposed a 35% tariff on Spanish black olives since 2018, a measure against which the WTO ruled in 2021, and then made a commitment to the EU to bring its legislation into line by 14 January 2023.
However, last September a new ruling in the US in favour of imposing the tariff on Spanish black olives once again called into question the EU’s agricultural subsidies, pending Washington’s withdrawal of the tariffs in compliance with WTO rules.
Despite the WTO ruling, the authorities continue to apply the measure.
The Spanish employers’ association has put the losses due to the tariff at 170 million euros and demanded compensatory aid.
In 2021, overall exports of Spanish olives (including green olives) to the US were 54.5 million kilos, 10% less than in 2020, due to the tariffs.
