Customs who introduced US President Donald Trump don’t like the Spanish olive oil retailers, but they are not excessively worried because they are at the same extent, or even more, affected and their main competitors.
Within the controversial “largest trade agreement ever” between Brussels and Washington, the customs in the US agricultural and nutrition in the United States will be 15 percent, as for other products.
This customs duty is also applied to export of olive oil from the EU, from which a third are absorbed by a third, writes the Brussels portal euractiv, stating that Spain produces 70 percent of that oil within the EU.
– There are countries passing worse than us – said Rafael Pico Acevedo, Deputy Director of Assoli Association, which represents Spanish producers and exports of olive oil.
In the previous trade dispute between Brussels and Washington in 2019, Spain found in a disadvantage in relation to its neighbors, and Italy was then temporarily taken over by the role of the main export of olive oil from the EU in the United States.
Now customs for Italy and Greece, the main Spanish competitors within the EU, equalized, while Tunisia – the main rival of the EU Block market – received a duty of 25 percent to the US export.
The duty of 15 percent will apply to Turkey, another key producer.
Pico told EURACTIV that some countries have passed better and obtained fewer customs, but it is mainly countries that are not leadership in production and export, such as Morocco, Australia, Argentina and Chile.
He added that it is difficult to predict the further development of the situation and warned that the rules of the game were when it was olive oil changed. “The countries can now position themselves in front of us thanks to political decisions,” Pico said.
He also stated that trade barriers will not encourage the American olive oil industry, as Trump promised.
– Now they will not promote American olive oil because they almost do not – said Pico, adding that the country covers only two percent of demand.
He also warned that American consumers, faced with higher prices, could turn to cheaper alternatives like palm oil.
Pico is still optimistic when it comes to the placement of the Spanish oil on the American market. He reminded that American olive oil consumption remained stable even when the prices were almost doubled – unlike Spanish spending, where consumers crossed the high prices to sunflower oil.
The olive harvest in Spain begins in October, and a good yield is expected, although, as Pico says, it will not be “the harvest of the century.”
(Vijesti.ba)
