Anti-dumping duties on leather footwear imported from China and Vietnam to be scrapped

19th January, 2011

It has been announced that anti-dumping duties on leather footwear imported from China and Vietnam are to be scrapped.

The duties, of 16.5% and 10% on leather footwear from China and Vietnam respectively, will be phased out in March 2011 despite heavy lobbying to extend the terms by the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry (CEC), the trade body which represents European footwear manufacturers.

The anti-dumping duties were originally imposed in 2006 to prevent cheap Chinese and Vietnamese footwear imports flooding the European market and putting local producers out of business.

EU ministers have voted not to extend the duties but have handed the CEC an explicit guarantee that it would hold quarterly meetings with Chinese and Vietnamese authorities to monitor imports on a daily basis to make sure there are no unfair trading practices.

BLC News

Anti-dumping duties on leather footwear imported from China and Vietnam to be scrapped