Millions of items of Chinese-made clothing that have been blocked at Europe’s borders are on their way to stores.

Activity at ports began early in the day. Import licenses were matched up with containers to check that the right merchandise was let in. Customs then handed over the goods to waiting transporters — sweaters, t-shirts, bras and other items. This is supposed to put an end to the Chinese textile crisis. But both EU-textile-producers and retailers worry about the future.

Earlier this month, China and the European Union revised a June deal limiting annual growth in Chinese textile exports to the bloc to between 8 and 12.5 percent. China quickly filled up its quotas for the year, leading to more than 80 million garments piled up at EU ports. The revised deal waved through half of those without penalty and deducted the other half from next year’s quotas.

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