The Government of Spain is pleased that the US accepts the WTO report on tariffs on Spanish black olives and hopes for a rapid solution to the conflict

Both ministers expressed their confidence in a rapid resolution of the conflict and a return to business as usual.

The Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, met this afternoon with representatives of the Spanish Association of Exporters and Industrialists of Table Olives (Asemesa) to inform the sector about the latest advances in the resolution of the conflict.

There they reported on the meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), held yesterday, which dealt with the anti-dumping and countervailing duties on black olives from Spain and in which the United States accepted the report.

The WTO's final report concluded that the tariffs applied by the United States on imports of black olives from Spain are contrary to WTO rules. In particular, it is very relevant that the report determines that Common Agricultural Policy support cannot be called into question, as it is decoupled from production.

Both ministers appreciated the US position, but called for caution, as there is now a period of several weeks for the US administration to state how it intends to implement the report, as well as the timeframe in which it plans to do so, which could extend over months.

Maroto has stated that "the acceptance of the panel by the United States has been a positive step". This is good news and a fundamental step towards reaching a definitive solution that will allow our companies to recover the North American market, in which the Spanish agri-food sector has positioned itself as highly competitive in recent years".

Planas stressed that the opinion for Spanish black olives is "very positive" and that "we are getting closer every day to the end of a conflict that has been going on for too long".

Throughout this process, the Government has spared no effort to defend the interests of Spanish companies and to achieve the elimination of tariffs.

Non official translation