EURATEX terms EU proposal on Chinese textiles as 'unacceptable'

01 Sep '05

2 min read

EURATEX has now had the opportunity to examine carefully the Commission's proposals in relation to textile and clothing trade with China for the year 2005 which are currently being discussed with member-states.

In its press release of yesterday (August 30th) the EURATEX President Filiep Libeert stressed that any solution must remain within the framework of the original overall agreement reached with the Chinese authorities on June 10th and must not further damage the interests of EU manufacturers of textiles and clothing.

This statement was in support of the comments made by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson that the primary and shared interest is to preserve the original overall agreement.

EURATEX President Filiep Libeert expressed grave concern that the proposals tabled by the EU Commission on August 31st did not conform to either of industry's requirements, to the extent that they granted substantial additional volumes to Chinese exporters and EU importers beyond the limits agreed on June 10th and that in so doing they failed to take into account the raison d'être of the 10th June agreement, namely to avoid unnecessary company closures and job losses in the EU and the more vulnerable developing nations.

“As the current proposals stand, Europe's textile and clothing industry will again be the major victim of the free gifts bestowed upon China, since there is little or no likelihood of compensation being found for them in the ongoing negotiations with the Chinese authorities. In their present form therefore we find the Commission's proposals to be unacceptable and are confident that member-states will find more palatable alternative solutions.”

EURATEX

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