Why is Europe limiting Chinese clothing imports?
The global textile industry has been in flux since the beginning of the year after quotas which limited worldwide clothing sales for 30 years were scrapped. The move – part of a global drive towards trade liberalisation – has resulted in a huge increase in Chinese clothing exports with sales of certain items to the EU rising by up to 500%. HAVE YOUR SAY “We in Europe cannot compete with Asia when it comes to the clothing and textile industry” Ian Kisberg, London, England Send us your comments China’s huge manpower and industrial capacity means it is able to produce large volumes of cheap clothing at much lower prices than producers in Europe. Some developing countries are also finding themselves at a disadvantage. However, as part of the rules governing China’s entry to the World Trade Organization, Europe has the right to place temporary limits on textile imports to give European manufacturers time to adapt to the new trading environment. In June, the EU and China agreed quotas on imp
