On Thursday 15 March, the European Parliament adopted a non-legislative resolution calling on the United States to go back on its decision to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of Spanish olives (see EUROPE 11958).
On the basis of surveys launched in July 2017, Washington has set in place provisional anti-subsidy duties of 2-7% (fixed in November 2017) on imports of olives from Spain, as well as provisional antidumping duties of 14-19% (in January 2018), the final level of which will be revealed in April.
As part of an oral question to the European Commission, MEPs described such measures as “an attack on EU farm support under the CAP”.
The parliamentary resolution calls on the Commission to take every diplomatic measure necessary, not only at bilateral level but also within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), to defend the CAP support system which, the WTO says, does not have a trade distortion effect. MEPs also believe the Commission must “continue the support provided to the Spanish olive sector”.
European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan spoke of the matter on 10 March with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Cecilia Malmström, European Trade Commissioner, said the day before in response to a parliamentary question that, once inquiries have been finalised, the Commission, which is assisting Madrid and Spanish exporters in this matter, “will analyse all the factual and legal aspects of the US decision and will look at possible options”.
Spanish olives accounted for $70.9 million in imports to the United States in 2016, according to the Commission’s latest statistics. (Original version in French)