British consumers may be 'short changed' on winter clothing

10 Aug '05

1 min read

Winter clothes may cost more as trade war between British retailers and the European Commission continues over Chinese imports.

The fact that European ports are choking from imported Chinese textiles, apparels and other related items on the way to respective destinations, were held only because of EU import restrictions.

Meanwhile, the European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has slammed businesses in China and Europe, yesterday for causing a bottleneck in which 43 million Chinese-made items of clothing are stranded on ships in European ports.

This happened as the Chinese were trying to beat a July 11 deadline for the enforcement of new import quotas.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the European Union had “misjudged the importance of China on the UK high street and the popularity of their products.”

Jumpers worth about £30 million at retail prices are being blocked from the British market alone, BRC claimed.

BRC's Brussels office Director Alistair Gray informed that autumn collections were “on hold”, as sourcing from else where would be difficult at such short notice.

It was felt that UK customers would be “shortchanged” on product quality and “they might expect to pay slightly higher prices.”

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