BRUSSELS, Sept 12: Chinese textiles blocked for weeks at European ports can be released as of Wednesday when a quota deal struck between the European Union and China goes into effect, an EU spokeswoman said on Monday.

Francoise Le Bail, spokeswoman for the European Commission, said the EU executive had just adopted a regulation “which will allow all textiles which are stuck in warehouses to be released.”

The regulation will be formally published on Tuesday and will come into force on Wednesday, allowing EU member state governments to grant import licences for the blocked goods, she said.

EU trade chief Peter Mandelson secured a deal in Beijing last week to unblock millions of items of clothing stopped after an initial June quota accord with Beijing led to a rush of orders from European retailers.—AFP