EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has urged EU member states to remove the restrictions on Chinese textile imports that are stockpiled in major European ports, due to quotas that were imposed on items such as sweaters, t-shirts and underwear in June.

"I have set in motion procedures to unblock the goods," Mandelson said in a statement at the European Commission, adding that he believed that the current situation would cause harm to European retailers and trade negotiations with China.