By Milagros Jurado
The services of the European Commission will continue to assist the Spanish industry and the Government of Spain, in order to ensure that the United States authorities fully respect the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the investigations of which the Spanish table olive is being used. Statement that is included in the answer to a question posed by Socialist MEPs about this conflict and in which the EC confirms its contacts with the Trump Government in support of the Spanish table olive sector. Also, the Commission does not rule out the adoption of specific measures after the final decision on this matter by the US Administration, scheduled for next April 9th.
The European Commission affirms that vigorous interventions on this matter will be maintained at all levels, in order to avoid any unjustified measure
In response to the question posed by Spanish socialist MEPs, the Commission states that it is fully aware of the importance of this issue and its systemic implications, which could lead to a questioning of the CAP’s aid system and that other Community exports be seen affected. Thus, it indicates that, since the very beginning of the investigations, it has actively intervened and provided the US authorities with all the pertinent information, in addition to acting in close cooperation with the Government of Spain and the Spanish companies affected. It has also been noted that Commissioners Hogan and Malmström have personally raised this issue with their counterparts in the US Government.
Thanks to the successive reforms of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU has made a very important contribution to abandon agricultural subsidies that distort trade, thus encouraging other WTO members to proceed in the same way.
It is expected that the final decision in the framework of these investigations will be adopted on April 9th, 2018. The Commission will examine all the options and take further measures in light of that decision
Background
On November 21th, 2017, the US Department of Commerce announced the imposition of provisional anti-subsidy measures on imports of Spanish table olives, considering that the production subsidies received under the CAP would constitute a unfair competition towards American producers.
Specifically, the measures announced contemplate an additional tariff of 2.31% for imports of Aceituna Guadalquivir S.L.U., an additional tariff of 2.47% for imports of Agro Sevilla Aceituna S. Coop. And., an additional tariff of 7.24% for the imports of Ángel Camacho Alimentación S.L. and an additional tariff of 4.47% for the rest of Spanish producers and exporters of table olives.
On January 19th, the US Department of Commerce it again adopted new preliminary measures, imposing a new additional tariff of 17.13% on the olive of Spain, which is the weighted average of the new tariffs imposed on the three companies of the sector that the Department of Commerce selected as representative of it. These companies (which according to the Association of Exporters of Table Olives (ASEMESA), have collaborated at all times with the development of the investigations), and their respective provisional tariffs, are: Aceitunas Guadalquivir, SL 16.8%; Agro Sevilla Olives, SCA, 14.64%; and Ángel Camacho Alimentación, SL, 19.73%.
As ASEMESA has denounced in a statement, “despite the requests of the EU Trade and Agriculture Commissioners and the collaboration provided by all the Administrations and by the Spanish industry, the US Department of Commerce has conducted his investigations with an excessive aggressiveness, imposing a work load and response deadlines to the administrations and disproportionate companies, which have put the sector on the verge of defenselessness”.
ASEMESA has indicated that the methodology used by the Department to proceed with the preliminary calculation of the margin of dumping is incompatible with the WTO regulations
The exports of Spanish table olives to the United States reached a volume of 70.9 million euros in 2016, and hundreds of thousands of jobs and families depend on its production.
Sources: Socialist Group in the European Parliament and ASEMESA.
