ditch attempt to reach a negotiated solution before the imposition of so-called "safeguards" allowed under the terms of China's entry into the WTO in 2001. EU imports of pullovers and men's trousers jumped by over 400 percent in the first quarter of this year, while T-shirt imports rose by 157 percent to more than 150 million. Shoes have become another source of friction, with the EU saying this week that imports of six Chinese footwear products leapt nearly 700 percent in the first four months of the year. But Mandelson will have to haggle over what proportion of China's textile exports could be covered by a mutual agreement limiting shipments, bidding Beijing up from its position that this should affect only T-shirts and flax yarn. Last weekend, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez held talks in Beijing but achieved no breakthrough.
