The European Commission on Monday said it was nearing a decision on imposing import safeguards on Chinese textile and clothing following repeated calls for such curbs from European textile makers and several states, including France. A Commission spokeswoman said the European Union's executive would decide as of April 18 - when it had received all import data - on whether to open an investigation into Chinese exports. "We are examining the request for safeguards from the European textile industry," the spokeswoman said. E.U. textile manufacturers have stepped up their campaign for urgent restrictions on soaring exports of Chinese textiles and clothing to the 25-nation bloc, saying the Commission's recent promises to act against Beijing amounted to "surrender." The Commission has vowed to take safeguard action against Chinese textile exporters but said this would require a prior inquiry and then consultation with Beijing. European industrialists say immediate restrictions are needed to protect jobs in the E.U. textile industry. The sudden surge in European imports of Chinese textile and clothing follows the elimination of worldwide quotas in the sector in January this year. Beijing has reacted angrily to the Commission's planned restrictions, saying they violate the spirit of free trade and seriously breach the basic principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Commission's measures have also been denounced by aid agencies, including Oxfam International, which say they will hit the Chinese economy and jeopardize the jobs of millions of Chinese textile workers.
