Doubts cast as European buyers continue sourcing cheap Chinese clothing
22 Jun '06
1 min read
European nations have devised new methods to import low-priced clothing from China in the face of quotas imposed by EU on such products.
Importers in Europe are purchasing more than half their Chinese goods through Hong Kong or China's neighbours.
Therefore, in the 12 months since bra wars that forced EU to impose quotas on China's textile shipments, those quotas remain hardly affected.
South Korean textile exports to the European Union have increased 140 percent in the past year while Bangladesh exports grew by 47 percent and those of Vietnam grew by 140 percent.
Surprising is the degree of utilization of Chinese textile quotas that has remained very low, and according market sources, heightened smuggling activity or illegal transshipment seems the only plausible reason.