In a statement released in Brussels after the March 23 session, the EC's initial duties on Vietnamese and Chinese shoes will be four percent and will gradually rise to 16.8 percent and 19.4 percent for Vietnamese and Chinese shoes, respectively, by September 2006. Sports shoes and footwear for children will be exempt from the duties.

According to the EC, shoemakers from the two countries received privileges from their governments, which allowed them to export lower cost products to the European market, causing European producers to lose their market shares.

The proposal has met with strong public protests, including from European retailers, because they said that the move would cause losses for European importers and consumers, as well as employees from Vietnam and China.

Earlier, Economic and Trade Ministers of Denmark and Sweden proposed that the EC not apply anti-dumping measures to cope with globalisation and competition unless absolutely necessary. They said that the proposal does not take into account the interest of its consumers and the move demonstrated European trade protectionism. 

Several global shoemakers have also criticised the EC proposal, saying the duties will cause the retail prices of shoes on the European market to rise and consumers will be the first to suffer losses. 

Domestic footwear sector braces for EU duties

Faced with the European anti-dumping duties, Vietnamese footwear exporters are scrambling to limit damage from April. Many Vietnamese footwear companies have already experienced a drastic decrease in EU orders, and some have been forced to lay off workers.

Nguyen Duc Thuan, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Leather Footwear Association (Lefaso), said to cope with the problem, footwear companies need to shift to leather items not subject to the duties.

But director of the Wec Saigon Shoe Company Diep Thanh Kiet said that could not be done overnight and instead urged footwear companies to switch to materials like resin and leatherette, which are not subject to duties.

Deputy industry minister Bui Xuan Khu called on the footwear companies to revamp production, focus on other markets like the US and Japan, invest further in technology, and create trademarks and new designs to bolster their global competitiveness.

In a new initiative, Lefaso called on the EC to reconsider aspects of its punitive action. It told the Europeans to limit the anti-dumping duties to 10 percent and exempt certain categories like kids’ shoes and slippers. The association also said the EC could slap quotas on Vietnamese leather footwear and cap them at 2004 levels.