Sweden Digs In on Proposal to Ban Lobsters from Europe

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Sweden is digging in on a proposal to ban imports of live lobsters into the European Union after a rebuke from American scientists, and the issue could go all the way to the World Trade Organization.

Sweden asked the European Union to bar imports of live American lobsters into the bloc earlier this year after 32 were found in Swedish waters.

The U.S. government then told the European Commission that the proposal isn’t supported by science. U.S. and Canadian scientists agreed.

Sweden’s Agency for Marine and Water Management is issuing a response to criticism that says the country is right to be cautious about the appearance of a foreign species in its waters.

Some American politicians say they will appeal to the WTO if the European Union sides with Sweden.