<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>ICEX Spain Export and Investment, the agency of the State Secretariat for Trade for the internationalization of the Spanish economy, and Interaceituna, the interprofessional organization for table olives in Spain, have launched a new campaign to promote Spanish olives in China.</strong></h4> According to Interaceituna in a press release, both institutions are collaborating to conduct olive tastings at various hospitality schools in the Asian country with the aim of helping future chefs gain a deeper understanding of this food. This campaign aims to raise awareness of the culinary potential and versatility of the olive, "a rare product in China." Therefore, the sector warns, "it is important to showcase the virtues of the olive on its own, so that it will be easy for them to know which ingredients to combine it with later." Other campaign objectives are to "generate a direct association between the product, olives, and the country of origin, Spain," and to "promote their frequent consumption due to their nutritional properties." The first tasting took place on April 3 in Beijing. The school selected for this activity was Jinsong Vocational High School, which has a teaching and administrative staff of 190. Ninety-two percent of the school's graduates work in major, high-end hotels. Therefore, the launch of the campaign coincided with the beginning of the tariff war unleashed by US President Donald Trump, a policy that, according to the industry, particularly penalizes Spanish black olives, a product whose main market is in the United States due to its common use in restaurants and in dishes such as pizza. Spanish black olives were already severely affected by the 30% tariffs imposed by the United States in 2018, but could be further affected by the additional 20% "reciprocal tariffs" announced by the White House against the European Union. This will make black olives, with a 50% tariff, one of the most penalized products in Europe. During Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's recent official trip to China, Agriculture Minister Luis Planas signed a protocol for agricultural and livestock exports. China is one of the countries in the world hardest hit by Trump's new trade tariffs. Washington initially imposed tariffs of 34%, but later raised them to 125% in retaliation for Beijing's countermeasures.
