Steps to cut imports of cheap shoes

Date: 15/01/1998

By Peter Chapman

EU MEMBER states will decide next month whether to support calls for anti-dumping duties on imported shoes from China, Thailand and Indonesia, amid fears that the Union's industry is suffering from a flood of cheap imports.

A European Commission source said the institution was set to hand EU trade diplomats its proposal in favour of duties before the end of the month.

Officials expect member states to support the move, but have so far refused to reveal at what level the duties will be set.

Other sources suggest the proposal will recommend a minimum price of 5.7 ecu on imports of leather or synthetic shoes from all three countries.

If it goes ahead, the anti-dumping action will deal a further blow to the beleaguered Far Eastern economies of Indonesia and Thailand, already hit by the financial crisis in the region. "Shoes are one of our major exports. We asked the Commission to reconsider the case at the end of last year to take account of the financial crisis," said one Thai trade diplomat.

The move to approve definitive duties has also been criticised by the Foreign Trade Association (FTA) and member states such as Finland, Belgium, Austria and Luxembourg which import large quantities of shoes. But they face an uphill battle to convince EU countries with significant shoe manufacturing industries to reject the Commission's proposals for definitive anti-dumping duties.

Opponents of the measure argue that it would have little effect on the market for more expensive footwear produced inside the EU, particularly in Italy, whose high-quality shoes sell at far higher prices.

The FTA says a Commission inquiry into state aid to the Italian shoe industry had shown the market there was flourishing. Yet Rome has submitted evidence purportedly showing that its industry has been damaged by cheap imports.

The FTA also claims the problems facing some EU shoe producers, particularly in France, are caused by competition from rivals in Spain and Portugal and not from the Far East.

The European Confederation of the Footwear Industry, however, rejects the argument that EU products are too up-market to be hit by the cheap shoes from Asia. "All of Europe's footwear industry has been damaged by these imports," said a spokesman.