The U.S. government has told the European Commission that a proposal to ban imports of American lobster isn't supported by science.
Eileen Sobeck, the assistant administrator for fisheries from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wrote to the commission on Monday. She says there's too much at stake to proceed with the proposed ban without "robust, peer-reviewed science."
Sobeck noted that the U.S. and Canada together export $200 million worth of lobster to European markets each year.
Sweden has asked the European Union to bar imports of live American lobsters into the 28-nation bloc after 32 of them were found in Swedish waters.
It's unclear how the American lobsters got there but Sweden believes they could spread disease and outcompete the European variety for food.
