Spanish black olive exporters urge EU to hit back on US tariffs

MADRID: Spanish black olive exporters have called on the EU to hit back at steep tariffs imposed under U.S. President Donald Trump, using powers authorised last week by the World Trade Organization.

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WTO ruling allows EU to impose up to US$13.64 million in annual countermeasures against US olive tariffs.
Spain urges the EU to act if the US doesn't comply, while the US insists its tariffs will remain to protect domestic growers.
Spanish olive exports to the US have dropped sharply, while other countries like Greece have gained market share.

On Wednesday, a WTO arbitrator issued a decision that allowed the EU to take countermeasures worth up to US$13.64 million a year in the long-running dispute over ripe olives.

It also opened the way for the EU to get WTO clearance to retaliate further if Washington imposes countervailing duties in the future.

The Spanish Association of Table Olive Exporters said on Thursday the WTO decision showed "firm support of Spain's complaints".

It "expects that the European Commission will not hesitate to apply the retaliatory measures authorised by the WTO if the United States does not voluntarily comply with the ruling," the association said in an emailed statement.

The United States, which has recently threatened Spain with more tariffs over its reluctance to increase NATO spending, said on Saturday it had no intention of lifting the sanctions which were meant to protect its growers.

An official at the U.S. Trade Representative's office said the arbitrator-awarded countermeasures were well below the US$33.5 million requested by the EU.

"The WTO decision does not disturb the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty orders on ripe olives from Spain, which will continue to provide relief for U.S. producers from unfairly traded imports," the official added.

EU CONSIDERING NEXT STEPS

Spain's share of the U.S. black olive market plummeted from 49% in 2017 to 19% in 2024, according to official data, after Trump ordered tariffs of more than 30% in his first term to counter dumping and subsidies at the request of Californian olive growers.

Since August, Washington has also applied a tariff of 15% on goods from the European Union, including table olives, which in Spain's case hiked the total rate to 46%.

The European Commission's spokesperson for trade, Olof Gill, told Reuters on Friday Brussels was analysing the WTO ruling and considering next steps.

The situation for Spanish olive producers in the U.S. market was getting worse "despite a WTO ruling fully in their favour," he said.

While Spanish exports slumped, shipments to the U.S. from Morocco, Portugal and Greece rose between 2017 and 2024. Greece, in particular, sends 30% of its olive exports to the United States.

Greek producers, who secured an exemption from Trump's initial tariffs, nonetheless welcomed the WTO ruling, saying anything that promoted free trade was valuable.