Millions of Chinese shirts, bras and trousers blocked at European customs warehouses because they exceeded import quotas will be released and in stores this week, the European Union said.
"Member states will have the legal grounds to issue import licenses to these products on Wednesday," Francoise Le Bail, a European Commission spokeswoman, told reporters in Brussels on Monday. "That will allow these textile products to come onto the shelves in shops very quickly during the course of this week."
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson won government backing on Sept. 7 for an accord with China to release the 87 million garments destined for retailers such as Carrefour SA and Marks & Spencer Plc. The apparel has been held up at EU ports because it overstepped a quota imposed by Mandelson in June in response to pressure by European clothing manufacturers.
China accepted a reduction in the 2006 textile cap days after reaching a stalemate with the U.S. over a similar quota system, triggering wider US curbs on Chinese imports ranging from bras to synthetic filament fabric. Chinese textile and apparel exports to Europe climbed 57 percent to $8.65 billion in the first half, according to Chinese government data. China exported $15 billion of textiles and clothing to the US in 2004 and is on pace to surpass that by more than 60 percent this year.
