The very Italian problem at California Olive Ranch

Some of you might have been in Washington with me in December 2012 for a hearing at the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) on the conditions of competition between American olive oil producers and major foreign suppliers.

Olive Oil Times was just a few years into covering industry news, and the USITC hearings felt like a big deal at the time – a courtroom drama pitting upstart American producers against old guard importers.

The main protagonist was California Olive Ranch (COR), who had been lobbying for what it called an "even playing field" with European producers who enjoyed, COR and others argued, unfair advantages, including government subsidies while they skirted quality standards and labeling rules.