MEPs of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture called on the US, on Monday 9 January, to respect the WTO panel’s ruling on its dispute with the EU over Spanish olives.
The deadline is 14 January 2023, but US anti-dumping duties on black table olives from Spain are still in place, lamented Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish).
At the end of 2022, the United States again criticised the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies for European olive growers. However, “we do not believe that these subsidies are illegal”, said John Clarke, director responsible for international affairs at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture (DG AGRI).
He refuted US claims that there is a “disproportionate” use of subsidies by European olive oil producers (see EUROPE 12836/17).
The EU is analysing the US decision of 20 December 2022 on how the country will implement the WTO ruling and will decide on the next steps, Mr Clarke explained. According to him, the Commission is considering “all possible political and legal avenues”.
As regards support for European producers, promotion measures, State aid and support under rural development are available, the Commission said.
Juan Ignacio Zoido (EPP, Spanish) recalled that these anti-dumping duties threaten all European producers and called for aid for Spanish producers who have lost market shares and paid high legal fees to defend themselves.
Alin Mituța (Renew Europe, Romanian) supported the requests of the Spanish members of the committee, as did Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA), who denounced the US attacks on the CAP.
Mazaly Aguilar (ECR, Spanish), for her part, said that the Americans wanted the added value of the olives to be valued in their country and not in Spain. This is a European problem, she insisted. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)