EU, Сhina agreed to cap Chinese textile imports

The European Union's new agreement to cap Chinese textile imports was the best deal possible, the EU commissioner in charge of taxation and customs issues said Thursday.

"It was the maximum what we could have extracted from China in terms of an agreed limitations of their exports," Laszlo Kovacs told the European Parliament.

Textile shipments piled up at European ports in the summer after cheap Chinese imports rapidly shot through limits agreed to in June, leading to cries of outrage from European retailers who claimed store shelves would be empty this fall.

The crisis forced the EU to renegotiate limits despite Chinese reluctance to restrict planned export growth from 10 percent to between 5 percent and 7.5 percent.

Kovacs said China was entitled to enjoy the benefits of the global economy in a way that avoids trade disruption.

The 25-nation EU and China cooled calls for a trade war in June when they agreed to limit the growth in textile imports on the back of complaints from European textile producers that cheaper imports would destroy their industry.

However some retailers rushed last-minute orders to China, filling quotas for sweaters, bras and men's trousers within weeks of the deal, informes the AP. I.L.

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