However, as the garments cannot be sorted out at the ports, even the items for which the quota has not been exhausted are stuck. Though the Government has appealed to the EC to transfer these garments into the 1999 quota and a high level delegation from the Apparel Export Promotion Council will soon be leaving for Brussels to sort out the issue, the transfer is unlikely to be allowed.

This may compel most exporters to look for buyers in third countries and sell their products at even lower prices than the costs incurred by them.

What is intriguing about the whole episode is thatIndian exports of women's garments to the EU were in excess of the quota allocated despite the fact that they are closely monitored by the Apparel Export Promotion Council. Was it negligence or was it the council's firm belief in the MoU with the EU that allowed transfers of one year's quota to the next, which led to this eventuality? Even if it is the latter, the council cannot be absolved of the responsibility for the huge losses that could accrue to the exporters. This is because, if it had known all along that the exports would exceed the quotas, it should have asked for a transfer to the next year's quota before allowing the exports.