U.S. authorities have announced they will implement tariffs on imports of ripe Spanish olives as an anti-dumping measure, saying that preliminary findings indicated exporters were given unfair subsidies.

On Tuesday U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that countervailing duties (CVD) would be applied in line with the subsidies in order to create a more level playing field for U.S. growers.

“The U.S. values its relationships with Spain, but even friendly countries must play by the rules,” Ross said in a release.

“We will continue to review all information related to this preliminary determination while standing up for American workers and companies.”

The Commerce Department preliminarily determined that exporters from Spain received countervailable subsidies of 2.31-7.24%, and will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of Spanish olives based on those rates.

The scope of this investigation covers certain processed olives, usually referred to as “ripe olives". The subject merchandise includes all colors and sizes of olives, whether pitted or not pitted.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to announce its final determination on or about April 4, 2018, unless the statutory deadline is extended.

In 2016, imports of ripe olives from Spain were valued at an estimated US$70.9 million.

Enforcement of U.S. trade law is a "prime focus" of the Trump administration, the Commerce Department said. From Jan. 20 through Nov. 21 this year, the department has initiated 77 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, up from 48 in the previous year.

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