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Experts Weigh in on Impact of Proposed Olive Oil Tariffs

July 2, 2019 - from the Specialty Food News:

"The specialty food industry continues to be impacted by the retaliatory tariffs put in place by the current presidential administration. Prices of specialty food items like cheese, meats, and oils could increase by double, maybe more."

" The current administration has proposed retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of imports from the European Union, including olive oil. This is in connection with the World Trade Organization's ruling in favor of the United States in a longstanding dispute over EU subsidies to its large civil aircraft industry (i.e. Airbus). The North American Olive Oil Association has petitioned the United States Trade Representative to remove olive oil from the proposed list of tariffs because it will devastate the American food industry and consumers who have come to depend on olive oil as a staple in their diets, as it is the only product on the proposed list that is recommended by American doctors, nutritionists, and dietitians for the prevention or treatment of chronic diseases. European olive oil represents over 70 percent of the olive oil consumed in the U.S. and American producers could barely supply 5 percent of the U.S. demand. Prices will skyrocket, leading consumers to choose less expensive—and less healthy or even unhealthy—cooking fats instead."