WTO Decision Backs Spain in Ongoing Table Olive Trade Dispute with U.S.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has authorized the European Union to impose trade sanctions of up to €12.7 million per year against the United States to compensate for losses incurred due to illegal tariffs on Spanish black table olives.

In its arbitration decision, the WTO established the maximum value of authorized countermeasures following a 2024 compliance review, which confirmed that Washington had failed to correct measures previously ruled inconsistent with international trade rules.

The European Union had sought authorization for €31.5 million in annual compensation, while the United States argued that any amount above €6.1 million would be excessive. The WTO’s final figure fell between the two estimates.

The decision follows a previous WTO ruling that found the U.S. had not complied with orders to remove its duties on Spanish black table olive imports.

The European Commission is now expected to formally request authorization from the WTO Dispute Settlement Body to suspend trade benefits granted to the United States for an equivalent amount. Such retaliation typically involves raising tariffs or imposing new restrictions on U.S. goods or services entering the European market.

The procedure to determine which products will be affected is expected to take several weeks. EU officials are likely to focus on sectors with political or economic leverage — such as exports from key U.S. swing states — while avoiding goods essential to European consumers or industries.

Spanish exporters have urged Brussels to act swiftly. “We need the European Union to respond decisively after the WTO ruling,” said representatives of the Spanish Association of Table Olive Exporters (Asemesa) in comments reported by Reuters.

Since the introduction of U.S. tariffs in 2018, the total duties on Spanish black table olives have reached 46 percent, including a 15 percent tariff on European exports. Spain’s market share in the U.S. has fallen to below 20 percent — less than half of what it was before the measures took effect.

Asemesa said the WTO ruling represents a “firm support for the claims of Spain and the table olive sector, which since the beginning of the conflict has defended the full legality of European agricultural aid and the need to restore fair competition conditions,” according to Agrodiario.

The association estimates losses for the industry at €260 million since the tariffs were imposed, warning that the long-term erosion of U.S. market share could drive that figure significantly higher.

The United States first introduced duties on Spanish olives in 2018, claiming they benefited from unfair subsidies under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. The WTO later ruled that the claim was unfounded and that Washington had violated global trade rules by maintaining the tariffs.

Despite multiple WTO findings against the measures, U.S. authorities have signaled no intention of lifting them. “The WTO decision does not disturb the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty orders on ripe olives from Spain, which will continue to provide relief for U.S. producers from unfairly traded imports,” an official from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said following the ruling.