Lawmakers Urge Resolution of EU Ban on US Seafood Exports
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should continue to press to eliminate the European Union (EU) ban on U.S. exports of live, fresh, frozen or processed products containing molluscan shellfish, echinoderms, tunicates, or marine gastropods, said Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, and 15 other House members in a June 20 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. The lawmakers sent the letter as Vilsack wrapped up a multiple-day trip throughout Europe. The EU imposed the ban in 2009, and since then officials from both sides have been crafting an equivalency agreement to ensure product safety, said the letter.
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The officials have made little progress to date, however, said the letter, while emphasizing the need to provide the U.S. seafood industry the 500 million consumers in the EU market. “It is particularly important this issue is resolved as international demand for shellfish continues to increase,” said the letter. “While the worldwide amount of wild-caught seafood has stayed the same year to year, we have seen a dramatic increase in the amount raised through aquaculture. In fact, a 2013 World Bank report estimates that aquaculture production will continue to grow and will provide close to two thirds of global food fish consumption by 2030. In order to meet these growing demands, our farmers must be able to compete on an international scale.”