EU Council’s ‘Made in’ meeting a ‘great disappointment’
The European Union Competitiveness Council has failed to overcome a stalemate after a meeting in Brussels to address mandatory marking of origin for non-food goods sold in the European Union.
The long-running issue has disappointed footwear companies, such as those represented by Italian footwear manufacturers association Assocalzaturifici, which have been campaigning for the labelling to be compulsory. On the opposing side are big footwear brands with manufacturing locations in Asia have petitioned for the origin to remain undisclosed.
Cleto Sagripanti, president of Assocalzaturifici, described the meeting as “disappointing” and “another opportunity wasted”.
He added: “It is truly disappointing to see Europe fail to agree yet again on introduction of obligatory marking of origin, making it practically the only area in the world without consumer protection for goods traded in its territory, whereas our trade partners, primarily the United States, but also China, introduced obligatory marking of origin some time ago.
“Because of this political impasse, millions of European consumers still do not have clear information on the products they are purchasing and their traceability. The EU has missed another great opportunity to support its own manufacturing industry; it's becoming clear that all the talk about an 'Industrial Renaissance' in Europe is just hot air. We can't help being very disappointed for our businesses, many of which are small enterprises, and for the 250,000 or so workers employed in the European footwear industry".
