The latest import sanctions by the U.S. on European products that include cheese, yogurt, wines, olives, oranges, and lemons have already taken effect. They will force American importers to pay up to 25% more for the targeted items, and producers who export significant quantities to the US expressed their concern that the tariffs will severely harm sales and impact profitability.
The tariffs come as a consequence of the Trump Administration’s recent decision to impose additional duties on $7.5 billion worth of EU goods and products, as part of an ongoing trade war between the US and the EU, partly due to the aviation antagonism between Washington and Brussels.
As a result, Greece’s Ministry of Rural Development and Food has spent months lobbying US officials to exempt Greek products from the expected tariffs.
Finally, Greece’s olive oil and olives managed to get an exemption from that list, allowing these iconic products to retain their current prices on American grocery store shelves.
The US administration decided to exempt not only the Greek but also Italian and Portuguese olive oils, as well as certain types of olive oil originating in Spain and France.
However, other Spanish and French olive oil varieties, as well as certain types of Spanish and French olives, will see their prices jump by at least 25% on October 18 in US markets.
Speaking to CNBC, the Greek Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr Makis Voridis, stated his pleasure that Greece’s olives and olive oil did not appear on the final US government list.
“Indeed they have decided not to impose taxes on olive oil and olives, which is absolutely a good thing,” he told the American news channel. But he also noted that Greek farmers would still likely suffer millions of euros in lost sales.
“At the end of the day, even if olive oil is exempted, peaches are not, and some Greek cheeses are not. So in that sense, in trying to deal with the issue, in the EU we all have a common interest.”