European Union ministers formally approved anti-dumping duties on leather shoe imports from China and Vietnam on Thursday, a day after a compromise was struck to end a battle between protectionists and free traders.
An EU official said the measure was approved without discussion at a meeting of interior ministers. The additional duties of 16.5 percent for leather shoes from China and 10 percent for Vietnam come into effect on October 7. Under the compromise, the duties will run for two years, instead of the standard five-year period, and then be reviewed. On Wednesday, trade experts from nine of the EU's 25 members approved the plan and four more abstained, denying opponents led by free-trading Nordic states the majority required to block it.