Imports of Belarusian textile products

In the light of the 'positive political developments' in relations between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus – not least due to Belarusian authorities' release of six political prisoners in August 2015 – the Commission proposes scrapping the existing autonomous quotas on imports of textiles and clothing originating in Belarus. To this end, the Commission proposes amending Regulation (EU) 2015/936, which lays down the rules for imports of textile products from certain third countries not covered by bilateral agreements, protocols or other arrangements, or by other specific Union import rules. As the use of autonomous quotas on imports of Belarusian textile products is very limited, their abolition is deemed to have limited impact on EU trade. The move aims to improve EU-Belarus bilateral relations which have long been impaired by Belarus's poor human rights record.