Government positively views request from EU for WTO to open a panel on the black olive

The European Union has called, for the first time, for this group to be set up as a result of existing concerns over the way in which the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations are proceeding. This request mentions such issues as the non-specific nature of the subsidies, the errors in the application of a pass-through coefficient on the final prices, the analysis of causality between the measures and the harm, and the use of incorrect data employed in the case of one Spanish company.

The government, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, has been working hard for more than a year to defend the interests of the productive sector of the black olive, mainly concentrated in the province of Seville. At the end of September 2018, Reyes Maroto asked the United States Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, to overturn the measures taken, and has maintained a coordinated position with the Commissioner for Trade of the European Union, Cecilia Malmström. Furthermore, the State Secretary for Trade, Xiana Méndez, has been highlighting at various forums that the duties imposed are unjustified and breach the rules of the WTO, since insufficient evidence has been submitted to show that the importation of the Spanish black olive has prejudiced US producers.

Although the United States has blocked the request to form a panel, which would be made up of three experts, the European Union may request this again within a period of 10 days or at the next meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO, which will be held on 24 June.

Non official translation