Europe retains duties on Chinese and Vietnamese shoe imports

31/08/2006 09:36:48

The European Commission plans to place anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese shoe imports, despite deep divisions among member states about the measures.

Temporary anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese shoes imports expire in October.

Seeking to break the deadlock, the commission renewed a proposal to impose a duty of 16.5 per cent on some Chinese leather shoes and a duty of 10 per cent on Vietnamese leather shoes.

Member states now have a month to review their positions on the duties and take a legally binding decision.

As Chinese and Vietnamese imports swelled, European footwear production fell by nearly a third in the last five years, costing 40,000 jobs, according to the commission.

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