After months of complaining about a surge of textiles from China, officials in Europe now say they may not be able to live without them — at least not in the short-term. Representatives from the 25 countries of the European Union met in Brussels on Wednesday to address what retailers are describing as an emergency situation: nearly 75 million sweaters, bras and T-shirts, among other clothing, are blocked at European ports.European officials say they are considering a renegotiation of a deal struck in June between Brussels and Beijing that put quotas on Chinese-made clothing and textiles.“The agreement provides for a certain flexibility,” a spokeswoman for the European Commission, Krisztina Nagy, said on Wednesday. “What has to be seen is what kind of adjustment or solution can be found to unblock the situation.”A team of European Union negotiators will leave for Beijing after the meeting in Brussels, probably later today, Nagy said.If the Europeans agree to significantly water down the quotas, it would be a political victory for Beijing, which is also holding talks with the US over limiting textile exports.One indicator of the triumphant mood in China came from the Beijing News, which ran a cartoon in on Wednesday editions showing four half-naked Europeans standing on a dock holding a welcome sign as a Chinese ship loaded with clothes anchored offshore, said Agence France-Presse.European officials have suggested that one solution would be to allow retailers to use up next year’s quotas immediately, thus allowing the clothing into stores in time for this fall and winter season, especially Christmas.But reaching agreement among the EU’s 25 countries may be difficult. The governments of Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden and Finland have been vocal in condemning the quotas, which they say are hurting their retailers and other textile-related industries such as design and marketing companies.Southern countries such as France, Italy, Spain and Greece — where the bulk of Europe’s textile industry is based — were the most vocal in calling for the quota protection. Europe’s textile industry employs 2.5 million people, according to William Lakin, director general of Euratex, a Brussels lobbying group for the textile industry.Lakin said textiles make up 7 per cent of Europe’s manufacturing sector. “The trade is not fundamentally fair trade,” Lakin said. Retailers, by contrast, say Europe’s textile quotas run the risk of leaving empty shelves across Europe in the coming weeks. They complain that the European Commission, which negotiates trade pacts on behalf of the Union, acted too quickly in imposing the quotas. — NYT
