2nd UPDATE: EU Seen Extending China, Vietnam Shoe Duties
09 10월 2009 - 1:22AM
Dow Jones News
The European Commission is likely to propose a 15-month
extension of controversial duties on shoes made in China and
Vietnam, European Union diplomats said, despite broad opposition
from major shoe corporations and many European governments.
The commission, the E.U.'s executive arm, is expected to argue
that Chinese and Vietnamese shoe companies are clearly shipping
their products to the E.U. at artificially low prices - especially
compared with the price of shoes made in other developing countries
such as India, Brazil and Indonesia.
The commission is also expected to argue that the duties, which
are 16.5% on Chinese shoes and 10% on Vietnamese shoes, have cost
European consumers only EUR1.50 per pair of shoes.
Global corporations, such as Adidas (ADS.XE) and one of Adidas'
main suppliers, the giant Hong Kong-based shoe manufacturer Yue
Yuen Industrial Holdings LTD. (0551.HK), have fought hard to end
the duties, which were put in place in October 2006 and were set to
expire last year. But European shoemakers in June 2008 asked the
commission to extend the duties, and the commission agreed to
examine the issue.
The commission's proposal will be distributed to the shoemakers
and the large shoe importers Friday, E.U. officials said.
It will be discussed at a meeting of E.U. trade experts in
November and must be approved by the European Council. If the
duties are cleared, they will come into force at the beginning of
January 2010.
It is unclear whether the council will approve an extension of
the duties. European shoemakers tend to be small- and medium-sized
businesses, concentrated in Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain and
Poland. The governments of those countries, and a few others, will
support extending the duties, but many other E.U. countries oppose
them.
The duties apply to leather footwear, which excludes most
sneakers.
Over the last decade, Chinese and Vietnamese exporters have
chipped away at the E.U. market share of European shoemakers, which
has decreased to 40%-45% from around 60% in 2001. Supporters of the
duties say they have prevented even more market share losses by
European shoemakers.
The case has been a top priority for the Chinese government, as
millions of people in China are employed in the footwear industry.
About 250,000 Europeans work in the European leather goods
industry, most of which are employed making shoes.
-By Matthew Dalton, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 1487;
matthew.dalton@dowjones.com