The European Comission will back Spain's fight to defend its olive exporters, who were hit by Donald Trump's tariffs in June 2018. Madrid considers the punitive measure to be "an evident prejudice" on olive producers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Baumgarten
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The EU is set to file a formal complaint against the US at the World Trade Organization (WTO) this week, citing "unjustified and unwarranted" import duties imposed on olives from Spain, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom announced on Monday.
"Tomorrow, we are taking this case to the WTO dispute settlement system, requesting consultations with the US," Malmstrom said on Twitter, adding that the European Commission was committed to vigorously defending the interests of EU producers.
The US Department of Commerce imposed punitive tariffs on Spanish olives in June of 2018, arguing they were being sold in the US at up to 25.5 per cent below value, while Madrid was subsidizing olive producers by up to 27 per cent.
Trade relations between the US and the EU have been tense since US President Donald Trump imposed duties of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum imports last year, leading Brussels to retaliate with counter tariffs on a range of US products.
The European Union and the United States are each other's largest export markets. Here's a look at what the two regions export and import — and which industries could be affected in a trade war.
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More than a trillion euros in trade
The European Union is the US' largest export market, accounting for about one-fifth of all US exports. Similarly, one-fifth of EU exports go to the United States. EU-US trade in goods and services was €1,069.3 billion in 2017. The EU imported €256.2 billion in goods from the US, and exported €375.8 billion.
Image: Imago/Hoch Zwei Stock/Angerer
EU trade surplus
The main exports and imports between the EU and US fall into the categories of machinery and vehicles, chemicals and other manufactured goods. Combined, they accounted for 89 percent of EU exports and imports with the US in 2017. In all three categories, as well as food and drink, the EU had a trade surplus. The US had a trade surplus in raw materials and energy.
Image: Reuters
Cars, machinery top exports
At €167 billion, machinery and vehicles were the largest EU export category to the US, accounting for 44.4 percent of goods exports. The €111.5 billion in machinery and transport equipment was the largest EU import from the US, accounting for 43.6 percent of imports.
Image: picture-alliance/U. Baumgarten
Small part of trade pie
At the end of May 2018, the Trump administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on EU steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum. Steel and aluminum exports to the United States were worth €3.58 billion in 2017.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
Retaliatory tariffs
In response, the European Union developed a list of products it may subject to retaliatory tariffs. These include typical American products like peanut butter, bourbon whiskey, Harley Davidson motorcycles, jeans and orange juice. The exports targeted by the EU are worth about €2.8 billion annually, according to EU officials.
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Services include travel, education
For services, the EU imports amounted to €219.3 billion and exports €218 billion. The top services were in professional and management services, intellectual property, travel and education. About a third of EU-US trade consists of intra-company transfers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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Spain's minister for Agriculture, Fishing and Food, Luis Planas, was happy to have the Commission's backing on the dispute and said Madrid perceived "an evident prejudice against our exporters."
In terms of where Spanish olives stand among EU trade priorities, Planas said that his government believed that olive exporters were "exactly the same as those of the auto or steel industries and that they deserve all consideration and protections of the EU."
The US and EU will have to go through a process of bilateral consultations, the first stage of the WTO dispute resolution process.
If both sides are unable to resolve the dispute then, the matter is sent to a judicial panel of the WTO for a final decision.
