Despite the EU’s recent decision to impose anti-dumping sanctions on Chinese and Vietnamese footwear the Italian Footwear Manufacturers’ Association

(ANCI) is calling for further action. According to a press release ANCI believes that the sanctions’ content and method of application are totally ineffective”.

Italian footwear manufacturers, represented by ANCI, are not at all satisfied and, through a new message published have urged EU Commissioner Mandelson to adopt a tougher policy to contrast dumping practised by China and Vietnam as regards their products exported to Europe.

We were very surprised indeed,” commented Rossano Soldini, chairman of the Italian Footwear Manufacturers’ Association, when reading in the press about the proposals for antidumping procedures applicable to Chinese and Vietnamese leather footwear imported into the EU. These procedures were launched last July thanks to the contribution of the European footwear associations – especially ANCI – which repeatedly called for a decision. We are very disappointed about the method and content of these proposals, which, while acknowledging the existence of this dumping, make the safeguard measures totally ineffective.”

There are four points of the Trade Commissioner’s recommendations which the Italian and European footwear manufacturers oppose and will call for modifications at the Anti-dumping Committee’s next meeting in Brussels on March 9.

These are that the proposed duties (from 5% to 20%) are too low and will make the measures ineffective because they will offset only a tiny amount of the competitive advantage China and Vietnam have through selling below cost;
unacceptable means of  phasing in the duties; the exclusion of STAF (Special Technology Athletic Footwear) footwear which ANCI believes will make the measures totally ineffective because it will allow importers to include under the excluded customs codes such footwear as casual street shoes, heavy-duty shoes or boots with a sports-footwear look; the exclusion of children’s footwear.

We are forced to launch this second appeal”, concluded Rossano Soldini, to ask that thousands of European firms be protected, thus defending hundreds of thousands of jobs in the industry. To us, it seems absurd that once the European Commission had acknowledged, by the procedures against China and Vietnam, that damage-causing, state-supported dumping existed, effective action was not taken to re-establish a lawful situation as had always been done in the past.”