The issue has sparked a row between the EU and retail representatives. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson is understood to have blamed businesses in China and Europe for 43 million Chinese-made clothing items being left stranded at European ports. The issue arose as retailers across Europe rushed to beat the July 11 deadline for the enforcement on Chinese export quotas.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is thought to have blamed the EU for misjudging the importance of Chinese suppliers in supplying the UK high street with clothes.
According to press reports,£30 million of Chinese products are being blocked by the bottleneck.
The BRC said UK retailers would find it hard to source clothing from elsewhere at such short notice and that the cost of doing so was likely to mean higher prices for shoppers in autumn and winter.
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