According to media reports, a Swedish-led group of countries from the European Union has rejected plans to impose prolonged tariffs on leather shoes from China and Vietnam.

As a result, the European Commission does not currently have a measure to succeed the present anti-dumping law which is due to expire October 7.

Reports indicate that China alone supplied approximately 50% of the 2.5 billion pairs of shoes sold in Europe in 2005. Bilateral trade between China and EU countries is valued at around €200 billion per year.

There has been an ongoing dispute between northern and southern EU nations over the rising imports of low cost leather footwear from China and Vietnam. It has been suggested by several prominent footwear companies, such as UK-based Clarks, that further anti-dumping duties could raise costs for consumers by as much as €150 million due to price increases. However, countries such as Italy, Portugal and Spain argue that the 8,000 European leather shoe manufacturers are in danger of job cuts if measures are not imposed, as four-fifths of production is undertaken in these nations.

The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industries (FESI) welcomed the vote against Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson’s anti-dumping proposal. President of FESI Horst Widmann said, “Member States have realised that anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese footwear will not help anybody. The European Commission has no choice but to look very carefully at this result. At stake are not only the interests of European consumers and the competitiveness of the European industry, but the very credibility of the rules.”

A new plan is expected to be proposed based on duties for footwear shipments that exceed quotas.