International Law Office - Legal Newsletter

Textiles and Clothing after 2005" by Tokia Saïfi. The report crystallizes the concerns of a large number of European parliamentarians that are directly related to the growing share of Chinese-made textile products in the EU market. The report urges for competition between the European Union and the Chinese mainland using balanced weaponry, which, in the words of the report, "so far has certainly not been the case".

Importantly, the report emphasizes labour and environmental standards, and calls on the European Commission on the one hand to negotiate the enforcement of such standards among World Trade Organization (WTO) members, and on the other to prohibit third-country products that do not meet such standards. The report is also critical of the level of piracy and counterfeiting that it alleges is being practised, to the detriment of EU industry. However, the report does admit that "massive reductions in the prices of particular product groups can indeed benefit European consumers", but that this scenario leaves the indigenous clothing industry with the almost impossible task of competing. The harder-hitting elements of">International Law Office - Legal Newsletter: "European Parliament Calls for Fair Trading Standards in Textiles Market
Contributed by Van Bael & Bellis
October 14 2005

On September 6 2005 the European Parliament adopted - by a large majority - a report entitled 'Textiles and Clothing after 2005' by Tokia Saïfi. The report crystallizes the concerns of a large number of European parliamentarians that are directly related to the growing share of Chinese-made textile products in the EU market. The report urges for competition between the European Union and the Chinese mainland using balanced weaponry, which, in the words of the report, 'so far has certainly not been the case'.

Importantly, the report emphasizes labour and environmental standards, and calls on the European Commission on the one hand to negotiate the enforcement of such standards among World Trade Organization (WTO) members, and on the other to prohibit third-country products that do not meet such standards. The report is also critical of the level of piracy and counterfeiting that it alleges is being practised, to the detriment of EU industry. However, the report does admit that 'massive reductions in the prices of particular product groups can indeed benefit European consumers', but that this scenario leaves the indigenous clothing industry with the almost impossible task of competing. The harder-hitting elements of"