Nineteen lawmakers wrote U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer Wednesday to demand that the U.S. ensure that olive oil imported from Europe remain tariff-free. The letter was signed by 14 Democrats and five republicans.
The lawmakers argued there was simply no alternative means to get the oil, and tariffs would badly hurt food and restaurant industries.
“Without European imports of olive oil, the United States cannot meet current consumer demand. The United States is the largest importer of olive oil, of which about 70 percent comes from the European Union,” the lawmakers wrote.
The Democrats were objecting to the White House potentially putting tariffs on the imports as part of a long-running World Trade Organization dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over aircraft industry subsidies. The U.S. has proposed tariffs on $11 billion worth of EU products such as food, wine, and olive oil in retaliation for the latter’s subsidies for AirBus. The tariffs would be imposed after the WTO completes arbitration, which is expected sometime in the next few weeks.
The lawmakers, led by New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell and Texas Republican Jodey Arrington, told Lighthizer that they “firmly support your work to compel the EU to implement the WTO Dispute Settlement Body recommendations in this case. However, we ask that you move forward with this settlement without threatening the olive oil industry by removing olive oil from any future product lists related to this case.”
