PressTV... China has forbidden US shellfish imports after inspectors discovered a recent shipment containing high levels of a deadly chemical agent, a media report says. The Chinese government imposed the ban after recent shipments of geoduck clams from Northwest waters in the US were found to contain high levels of arsenic and a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, Washington public radio KUOW reported.
Clams, oysters and all other two-shelled bivalves harvested on the shores of Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Northern California fall under the ban, which has started last week and will continue indefinitely, the Chinese government said.
The move cuts off one of the biggest export markets for Northwest companies in the United States, with experts warning of a months-long shutdown.
“They have never done anything like that, where they would not allow shellfish from this entire area based on potentially two areas or maybe just one area. We do not really know yet,” said Jerry Borchert with the Washington Department of Health.
An investigation is underway to determine the precise location of the contaminated clams, with particular focus in Washington and Alaska.
Nearly 90 percent of US geoduck exports are sold to China, estimated at around USD 68 million last year - most of which came from Washington state’s Puget Sound.
Local experts say the shellfish ban will put at least a couple thousand workers out of a job.
In just five years, China has surpassed the United States as a trading partner for much of the world, including US allies such as South Korea and Australia, according to an Associated Press analysis of trade data.
As recently as 2006, the US was the larger trading partner for 127 countries, versus just 70 for China. By 2011, the two had clearly traded places: 124 countries for China, 76 for the US.
GMA/HSN