http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/mmpa/
In 1972, the Unites States of America adopted the Marine Mammal Protection Act forbitting the importation of all marine mammal products, seal included, on his territory.
For many years now, the Atlantic gray seal population have multiplied to a dangerous point, threatening biodiversity in Eastern USA:
The West Coast is also dealing with an overabundance of sea lion: http://portlandtribune.com/lor/48-news/364372-245389-odfw-applies-to-cull-sea-lions-at-willamette-falls
Despite it all, the MMPA stay unchanged and the USA is even now threatening to cut down markets for Canadian fisheries if they don't overprotect marine mammal the same way they do. Talk about ecocolonialism: https://www.msc.org/newsroom/news/msc-certificate-suspended-for-southern...
In 1983 the EU banned the importation of specific seal products and in 2009 followed this up with a total ban on the importation of ALL seal products: with a hypocritical “exception” for those products of seals killed by Aboriginal hunters using “traditional” methods, despite the fact that all Aboriginal Organisations strongly rejected this “exemption” as being colonialist and racist.
https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/november/tradoc_145264.pdf
Obviously, the First Nations rightly decided to challenge that regulation in front of the EU Court of Justice while Canada and Norway teamed up to complain at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Indeed, there are no scientific, commercial or other data supporting this ban. All the numbers are clear about the abundance of commercial seal populations and hunting methods have been approved by the International Group of Independant Veterinarians. The EU had to play the very evasive "public morality" card to justify its ban on seal products. It seems paying for sex and using drugs is morally justified in Europe (Amsterdam), but not buying sustainable seal products.
This unique case created a very dangerous precedent in international trade: if the EU can ban a well regulated product only based on morality, it can be argue that any killing of an animal can be define as "immoral". Animal-right activists could now use that argument to ban any product coming from any animal usage i.e. meat, hide, fat...
Here is a little example of what could now happen: To prevent competition from India, a European textile producer could argue that it's morally bad to hire workers under 16 years of age and should then ban Indian textile in EU, even though it is perfectly normal in India to work at that age and put bread on the table for your family. Certains interest groups will certainly use this new regulation to make profit... as activists have been doing with seals for decades now.
EU Seal Product Ban upheld in WTO Appeal, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/eu-seal-product-ban-...
