Spanish Olive Oil Giant Plans to Evade Tariffs With New U.S. Production Center

By Daniel Dawson

Oct. 28, 2019 08:16 UTC

Summary

Acesur, a major Spanish olive oil producer, plans to open a new production center in the U.S. to avoid tariffs on olive oil imports, allowing the company to export bulk olive oil to the U.S. and package it at the new plant. The company has not yet announced the location of the plant or how many people it will employ.

A major Spanish olive oil-producing and exporting company plans to open a new production center in the United States, with the aim of evading newly-imposed tariffs on some olive oil imports from Spain, Vox Populi reports.

This would allow us to take the product from anywhere in the world to the U.S. and produce our oil while dodging tariffs.- Gonzalo Guillén, Acesur

Acesur, which bottles the olive oil brands of Coosur and La Española, is in the process of making plans to open a packaging center to which it could export olive oil in bulk.

Olive oil exported to the United States in quantities larger than 18 kilograms (39 lbs) was excluded from the 25 percent tariff imposed by the U.S. on October 18. The bulk olive oil would be packaged at the new plant and distributed in the U.S.

“It is a measure that all oil companies are evaluating,” Gonzalo Guillén, the executive director of Acesur, said. “This would allow us to take the product from anywhere in the world to the U.S. and produce our oil while dodging tariffs.”

The company has yet to announce where the plant would be and how many people it would employ.