http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115995506156182283-ZlBPMsxevXswvk10pKoswgpzeBE_20061011.html?mod=regionallinks
BRUSSELS -- The European Union voted to impose antidumping tariffs on imports
of leather shoes from China and Vietnam, exposing the divide between European
manufacturers clamoring for protection from low-cost competitors and retailers
who want unfettered access to Asian goods.
The decision will place tariffs of 16.5% on shoes made in China and 10% on
those made in Vietnam for two years. The measure passed by a vote of 13-12, a
reflection of the acrimony that has characterized the European debate over Asian
goods for years. Cyprus, a country of about 780,000, was the swing vote,
changing sides at the last minute.
The tariffs will affect 11% of the 2.5 billion shoes bought every year in
Europe: 174 million pairs from China and 103 million from Vietnam.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said politics had nothing to do with
the outcome. "This was a necessary decision following an investigation into
claims of dumping," said Mr. Mandelson. "It's not a protectionist line of
thinking." Dumping is exporting goods at prices below the cost of production.
That claim isn't likely to placate retailers in Europe. "Today's decision
hurts competitiveness, growth, employment and consumer welfare while helping no
one," said Horst Widmann, president of the Federation of the European Sporting
Goods Industry.
Chinese officials in Brussels and Geneva didn't return calls seeking comment.
In the past they have disputed the dumping allegations.
European shoemakers had wanted even stiffer duties. "We feel the commission
didn't go far enough," said Rossano Soldini, president of the National
Association of Italian Shoe Manufacturers, which represents 7,000 companies.
According to the EU, imports have caused European footwear production to fall
30% since 2001, resulting in a loss of 40,000 jobs.
Mr. Mandelson also yesterday called for a new mechanism to analyze trade
disputes. He said Europe would seek more bilateral trade deals, a sign the EU is
moving on after the collapse of the Doha round of global trade talks in July.
The EU is negotiating trade treaties with Russia, India and a host of Latin
American and Middle Eastern countries.
The absence of a multilateral trade deal leaves the EU to face several issues
on its own, starting with China, which Mr. Mandelson labeled "the greatest test
of Europe's capacity to make globalization an opportunity for jobs and growth."
European imports from the Asian giant increased last year to ？58 billion
($201 billion) from ？27 billion a year earlier, forcing thousands of European
manufacturers to close shop or move to cheaper labor markets.
The EU, along with the U.S. and Canada, filed a complaint at the World Trade
Organization last month, saying China was imposing unfair duties on imports of
auto parts.
Separately, Mr. Mandelson promised the EU would stiffen its insistence that
China and others comply with international rules protecting intellectual
property. Some 70% of the roughly ？00 million of counterfeit goods seized by
European customs agents in 2004 came from China.
Mr. Mandelson also said he wouldn't tolerate foreign countries blocking
access to their raw-materials markets "unless justified for security or
environmental reasons."
