EU-U.S. shellfish trade to resume after 10-year dispute

The trade of molluscan shellfish between the European Union and the U.S. is set to resume following a 10-year break after the two sides resolved regulatory disputes.

Sales of mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops will resume at the end of this month, the European Commission said on Friday after it adopted legislation to that effect. Two EU member states, Spain and the Netherlands, will be allowed to export shellfish to the U.S., while two American states, Massachusetts and Washington, can do the same to the EU.

“Commerce shall resume shortly, and I look forward to the extension of this opportunity to more EU member states in the near future,” EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in an emailed statement.

Shellfish trade between the EU and the U.S. hasn’t been allowed since 2011 due to differences in regulatory standards. The commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been discussing the recognition of each other’s production systems since then. The solution follows similar breakthroughs in a year of transatlantic peacemaking on trade, which resulted in the suspension of tariffs on about $22 billion of two-way trade stemming from Donald Trump-era disputes over steel and aluminum, and aircraft subsidies to Airbus SE and Boeing Co.

This is the first time that FDA has issued an equivalence determination granting EU producers access to the U.S. market.