The European Union (EU)'s Textiles High Level Group, consisting of Europe's textile entrepreneurs and representatives of EU member states and the European Commission, on Tuesday welcomed a Sino-EU memorandum on textile trade.

During a meeting of the group held here, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson stressed that the agreement with China is not only fair and beneficial to both sides, but will also provide a necessary break for the restructuring of Europe's textile industry.

"The industry should now use this additional time to focus on -- and invest in -- the future and move up the value chain through innovation, restructuring, research and investment in skills," said Mandelson.

Under the agreement signed last Saturday, China will limit the growth of its textile exports to the EU in the next three years to secure a "smooth transition" before the complete opening of the European market to Chinese textile products in 2008.

The EU has agreed not to restrict the import of Chinese textiles before 2008 and only set growth rate limits on 10 Chinese textile products exported to Europe up to 2007. The two sides also pledged in the agreement to solve all problems emerging in their future textile trade through dialogue.

Participants of the meeting agreed that elimination of textile quotas on Jan. 1 this year has presented serious challenges to Europe's textile industry.

The meeting called on the EU member countries to help reconstruct their textile enterprises through such means as increasing investment to enhance competitiveness, providing enterprises with more opportunities and giving social assistance to the regions suffering the greatest losses.

The meeting also urged Europe's textile enterprises to fully tap their potential and take advantage of the full liberalization of the textile trade to export goods to China and other countries.

Source: Xinhua