EU's textile industry turns to India after curbing Chinese textile imports

18 Jun '05

2 min read

EU officials and policymakers informed that the textile industry is now turning to India after imposing quota on Chinese imports, pushing to stall a EU plan that would provide discounts to textile manufacturers from India.

Under the plan, Indian textiles exporters would be benefited by cut down their customs duties in Europe by a fifth. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson had tried to make it effective in the month of it April 1 but is now trying to set up by July 1, 2005.

Trade and Legal Affairs Director at Euratex, Francesco Marchi explained that the India is almost big danger for the EU textile industry like China.

EU imports Indian textiles and clothing climb by around 10 percent in the first quarter of this year. In the last five years, such imports were virtually flat. India is third largest textiles supplier after China and Turkey.

India diplomat informed that its textiles are made in a delicate cottage industry, which employs about 85 million worker, most of them women and it needs EU help to retain its existence.

Arguing on the issue Peter Mandelson ssid that he has already provided EU textile producers some protection in an agreement with China. Beijing will restrain the growth of exports of 10 categories of textiles to EU between 8 per cent and 12.5 percent a year.

Mandelson wishes to benefit Indian textile maker by giving discounts until its share of imported reaches 12.5 percent. However countries such as as Italy and France intends pull the qualification of threshold to qualify for discounts at 10 percent, which means it would exclude India because it is at 11 percent of growth of exports.

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