Urgent action is needed to resolve the current crisis affecting the European clothing industry, warns Michael Hannon, Director of IBEC's Irish Clothing and Textile Alliance.
He says that legal measures are being taken in some EU states to protect companies who have legitimately entered into supply contracts and are now being penalised following the re-imposition of quotas in June. About 50-70 million garments are currently blocked in European customs.
Mr Hannon says that the clothing industry in Ireland, which designs and imports the garments, is facing a situation of having goods blocked at Irish customers - which have been paid for - and then being unable to meet their customers demands for winter stock.
'Fashion suppliers are under increasing pressure as their product, which is seasonal and has a short shelf-life, is piling up in Irish and European ports,' Mr Hannon says.
He warns that if not resolved quickly, the dispute will reduce the choice of garments available to shoppers this winter and could lead to higher prices
Earlier, the EU Commission acknowledged that there is a 'serious glitch' in the way new quotas on Chinese clothing imports have been implemented, adding that the situation needed to be addressed quickly.
'I am glad that the member states have recognised the urgency of removing what is a serious glitch in the implementation of the Shanghai Agreement,' EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said after a meeting of the 25 member states.
He said a 'pragmatic solution' was required to deal with a backlog of millions of Chinese clothing imports that have been piling up unsold in EU warehouses because quotas agreed in June have already been breached.
In June, the EU and China agreed to curb a surge in imports of Chinese textiles into Europe until the end of 2008 in a bid to defuse an escalating row.
The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland have warned of job losses and bankruptcies among retailers unless the EU eases the curbs on Chinese clothing imports. Some retailers - notably in Germany - have talked of legal action over the matter.
But Mandelson faces equal pressure from countries with big national textile industries, such as France, Italy and Spain.
Commission textile trade experts will fly to Beijing later today for talks with Chinese authorities.
