Peter Mandelson must be a relieved man, after all!
What after all the jetlag, and rounds of negotiations, not only with China but putting it across to dissenting members of the European community for unblocking Chinese textiles that jammed sea ports of member countries.
Now, its matter of days that some 80 million Chinese jumpers, trousers and other textiles will reach retailers, some of whom had already sought alternate sources for replenishing vanishing stocks.
China will definitely celebrate this small but significant victory, and look forward to US accepting more Chinese textiles soon.
Speaking from the sidelines, European Commission spokeswoman Francoise Le Bail said France, Italy and other governments supporting manufacturers acceeded to Mandelson's line only when promissed about vigilant management of the quotas in the future.
She also said that customs authorities can release the blocked merchandise by next week.
