China has given its backing to domestic shoe exporters challenging EU anti-dumping duties, calling Brussels' move a violation of the companies' rights.
The European Union imposed 16.5 percent import duties on Chinese-made leather shoes and 10 percent duties on Vietnamese-made shoes for two years from October, overriding disagreement among member states over whether European manufacturers deserved the extra protection.
China's biggest privately owned shoemaker, the Aokang Group, and other exporters have said they will challenge the duties in a European court. And late on Sunday, China's Ministry of Commerce issued a statement supporting that challenge. "This is an effective channel for the companies to protect their legitimate rights and interests," the ministry said in a statement on its Web site (www.mofcom.gov.cn). "The Chinese government expresses its respect and support."
The ministry said the EU decision "violated the EU's own anti-dumping laws in quite a few places", including in how duties were calculated and how Chinese firms were chosen for scrutiny.
Last week, the EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson visited China, where he jousted with Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai over shoes, auto parts and other points of trade friction. Bo called the EU shoe duties "extremely regrettable." The European Union has joined the United States and Canada to complain to the World Trade Organisation about China's rules on vehicle part imports.
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