Photo: agroinformacion.com
The Diplomat. 12/07/2018
The Spanish Government has “deeply” regretted the decision of the North American International Trade Commission (ITC) of confirming the supposed damage caused by the Spanish black olive to the North American black olive due to the subsidies and it has warned that the case could be reported to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The ITC has confirmed the opinion of the Trade Department according to which the Spanish black olive is being sold at a lower price than the market price thanks to subsidies (dumping prices), which will entail an important tightening of tariffs. After this voting, the ITC will have to publish its final resolution on July 24, in which it will explain the reasons for its conclusion in detail.
In a statement, the Government warned yesterday that, “during the investigation, neither the accusers nor the investigating authority have provided sufficient evidence, in light of the dispositions of the World Trade Organization on the matter, that justify this result in favor of the imposition of measures”.
According to the Executive of Pedro Sánchez, “the existence of material damage in the North American industry has not been reliably proven; considerable and solid evidence has been left out, a proof that shows that the situation the North American sector is going through is caused by intrinsic matters and by no means by the Spanish exports; the allegations presented by the Government rejecting the fact that the Spanish product means a threat to the North American production have also been dismissed”.
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Washington confirms the supposed dumping despite the Government’s allegations
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“Once the procedures within the ITC ad the DoC have unfavorably concluded for the Spanish and community interests, the European Commission and the Secretariat of State for Trade are analyzing all the possible roads for action to react in defense of the olive sector and to protect the legality of the assistance set in motion by the North American authorities”, the Government continued. “The possibility of taking the case before the WTO has not been ruled out”, it warned.
According to the Secretariat of State for Trade of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Government of the United States has “fundamentally” questioned the assistance of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which “does not generate distortion for international trade, are completely compatible with the WTO” and “are not much different from those that the US grants to support its own agricultural sector”.
