EU Pushing US to Continue Lifting Plant Import Restrictions

The EU applauded a recent move by the U.S. to lift restrictions on certain plant imports from 21 member states after finding the regions were free from two pests (see 2406110052), and it's asking the U.S. to continue removing the restrictions for other EU countries. The European Commission said it helped “negotiate the removal” of the U.S. import restrictions, which "underscores the cooperative efforts between the EU and US to ensure the safety and quality of traded agricultural products." But it noted that Finland, Austria, Croatia, France, Germany and Italy are still under restrictions. "The Commission continues to work with the US on the EU’s remaining demand," it said.