This was the remark by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga on December 3, who was answering reporters’ queries about Vietnam’s views on the European Commission’s plan to consider and make a final decision on the extension of anti-dumping tariffs on leather-capped shoes imported from Vietnam.

“Vietnam has many times affirmed that Vietnamese businesses do not dump leather-capped shoes on the European market,” said the spokeswoman.

“The imposition of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese leather-capped shoes does not reflect reality, causing adverse effects on Vietnam’s leather shoe sector, which attracts a large number of workers, mainly female labourers, as well as European production businesses, retail associations and consumers,” she added.

Ms Nga went on to say that the EU’s anti-dumping advisory committee voted on November 19, 2009, to reject an EC proposal to extend dumping duties on shoes shipped from Vietnam. The cancellation of the anti-dumping duties fits in with the growing multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, and benefits the promotion of bilateral economic-trade relations, she concluded.