Friday Farming: "Trump’s olive siege of farming fortress Europe".

It's mostly the headline that caught my attention on this one:

Trump’s olive siege of farming fortress Europe

Brussels fears that fast-moving US trade case could undermine €58 billion-per-year Common Agricultural Policy.

But this item is quite interesting:

For Brussels, the case could set an alarming precedent. Under the sacrosanct Common Agricultural Policy, the EU pours about 40 percent of its budget into farm subsidies and it is highly protective of any trade investigation that questions the legality of those payments. Last year, Brussels pushed back hard against Australia’s moves to put tariffs on Italian tinned tomatoes.

40% of the budget in farm subsidies?  Wow.

Does that mean 40% of the EU's overall budget, or of its Common Agricultural Policy budget?  It appears to mean 40% of its actual budget, which would be an impressive figure.

This fight apparently comes about due to olives:

The U.S. Department of Commerce opened a probe last month to determine whether to slap duties on ripe olives from Spain, after Californian producers argued their Iberian rivals receive an unfair advantage because of the EU’s lavish farm subsidy scheme.

I do like Spanish olives.