European Union ministers voted on Tuesday to extend import duties on shoes from China and Vietnam by 15 months, a move likely to anger China, major European retailers and consumer groups. "The shoes proposal was adopted," one of the officials involved in the talks said.
The decision was taken despite a vote on November 19 by the EU's anti-dumping committee, made up of senior trade officials from the 27 member states, to reject plans to extend the tariffs. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, first imposed the import duties in 2006 after European shoe manufacturers complained that they were unable to compete against low-cost producers in China and Vietnam. The manufacturers said Chinese and Vietnamese governments were providing unfair subsidies that lowered costs for domestic manufacturers.
The extended duties are expected to come into force from January 3 and to amount to a 16.5 percent tariff on imports of Chinese leather shoes and 10 percent on those made in Vietnam. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a retail lobby group, expressed frustration at the decision. "This move will be a signal to failing companies around Europe that the Commission will step in and protect them from foreign competition," said BRC Director Alisdair Gray.
"Despite losing the vote on numbers, consumers will have to keep paying inflated footwear prices for a further two years." Austria, Germany and Malta had opposed the extension, but ahead of Tuesday's vote indicated that they would abstain, allowing the extension to be adopted by a majority of countries. The Commission last extended the duties in October 2008, angering China, many global shoe brands, leading European shoe retailers and consumer groups, who argued that the measure would drive up the costs of shoes for everyone.
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