Remove anti-dumping duties, says Vietnam
Vietnam’s foreign affairs ministry has said it hopes the European Union will decide not to extend anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese leather shoes.
Responding to the European Commission’s recommendation that the duties on Vietnamese and Chinese shoes be extended for 15 months, the ministry said the decision would harm Vietnamese companies.
Spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga said: “The imposition of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese leather-capped shoes is not unbiased and causes adverse impacts on Vietnamese production and export of leather shoes, which is a sector with a large number of workers, mainly women, as well as European producers, retail associations, and consumers.”
She also denied that Vietnam was guilty of dumping. “Vietnam has said many times that Vietnamese enterprises do not dump leather-capped shoes on the European market,” she said.
A vote on November 19 showed that 10 member states were in favour of the extension, while 15 were against and two abstained. However, it is now believed some members will change their votes when ministers at the European Council consider the issue later this month.
“Removing the anti-dumping tariffs conforms with the ongoing development of the multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, and is beneficial for expanding economic and trade relations between Vietnam and the EU,” Ms Nga said.
