LONDON, Reuters As online fastfashion retailer Shein ramps up its preIPO charm offensive in Britain, pushback is growing too from Europe39;s retail industry and lawmakers.

As citizens of 27 countries vote in European Union elections, European manufacturers of fabric, clothes, leather goods and shoes this week called on future EU policymakers to protect the 1.5 million jobs in the sector from lowcost products being dumped on the market.

With industrial policy a key issue in the election, apparel manufacturers, retailers and ecommerce companies are trying to put cheap clothes, accessories and gadgets from China on the agenda, invoking the same language used by EU officials about Chinese overcapacity in electric vehicles.

The textiles, footwear and leather industries in Europe home to fastfashion giants Zara and HM, as well as the world39;s biggest luxury brands have a combined annual turnover of more than 200 billion euros 220 billion.

Ninetynine percent of companies in the sector are small or medium enterprises, making them vulnerable to fierce global competition, the industry groups said in a joint statement.

Poland39;s ecommerce association argued in a report that Chinese state subsidies are giving online marketplaces like Shein, which sends 5 Tshirts, 15 jeans and 1 earrings from China directly to customers around the world, an unfair advantage over European rivals.

A Shein spokesperson said There is no truth to the allegation that Chinese state subsidies help…