|
'Bra wars' may push up price of clothes
I may have to get my hands around this problemMore information on this "development" at the link Shoppers face rising prices if the European Union's "bra wars" with China is not quickly resolved, a major British retailer warned yesterday as Brussels admitted it had blundered in the way it imposed emergency quotas. UK retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Philip Green's BHS and Arcadia Group, Debenhams and John Lewis, in addition to Next, are reported to have been badly hit since the introduction of EU textile quotas in June, restricting imports of cheap, Chinese-made trousers, sweaters, bras and T-shirts. Currently, there are 48 million sweaters, 17 million pairs of men's trousers, three million bras and four million T-shirts stranded in ports and warehouses. David Keens, the finance director of fashion retailer Next, said: "There is a real possibility that prices will go up for customers. The longer that the Government takes to sort this out, the more likely it is that prices will rise." Peter Mandelson, the European Union trade commissioner, yesterday said there had been a "serious glitch" in the way the import curbs had been drawn up and implemented, as retailers and importers accused the European Commission of wreaking havoc on business. The stand-off has led to widespread fears that shops may run short of autumn clothing, or that prices may have to rise. Mr Keens warned that the crisis could become particularly acute by Christmas if the items remained blocked in warehouses and ports. Posted by: Captain America 2005-08-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=127634 |