Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/7/22

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Friday that the U.S. and EU will resume limited trading of shellfish such as mussels and oysters, a move that the National Fisheries Institute says will create new markets for exporters specifically in Massachusetts and Washington state.

The bilateral agreement applies to live, raw, and processed bivalve molluscan shellfish from those two states, starting at the end of this month. It also allows producers in Spain and the Netherlands to export live and raw bivalve molluscan shellfish to U.S. buyers.

“Trade in products like oysters, clams, mussels, and whole or roe-on scallops has been disrupted for nearly a decade,” the seafood trade group said in a statement. “We urge USTR to ensure that the EU continues to follow through on its commitment to further open EU markets to all other processed molluscan shellfish products such as clams from the U.S.”

Applause from the Pacific Northwest: Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) called the move “long overdue and a major win for Washington’s shellfish growers.” Before the trade freeze, Washington was exporting hundreds of thousands of pounds of shellfish to the EU each year.