China Leather Association on Friday warned Chinese shoe-makers
to prepare to respond ahead of an European anti-dumping
investigation that is expected to open officially at the end of the
month.
Su Chaoying, secretary-general of the association, called on all
Chinese labor safety shoe-makers to make an active response.
"I fear that some firms may give up the fight because the volume
of labor safety shoes is small," he said.
In 2004, China's labor safety shoe exports to the EU were worth
US$55 million.
Su said that although the sum was not large, it marked just the
beginning of the EU's series of anti-dumping cases against Chinese
footwear.
The association said it was the obligation of labor safety
shoe-makers to respond.
"Otherwise, it will not only impose negative effects on the
exports of this kind but also result in chain reactions in other
classes," the association said.
It added it might even bring about trade frictions with other
countries if the firms forced out of the EU turned to other
markets.
The association predicted the EU is likely to launch
investigations in several months' time into material and leather
shoes from China.
That will be a heavy blow to China's shoe-making industry
because they are two major categories of Chinese exports to the
EU.
The association has set up an early-warning system to keep
companies informed about the latest information. It has also
promised to offer legal help.
The proposed investigation into whether Chinese labor safety
shoe-makers are dumping will last a maximum of nine months.
Chinese enterprises would be forced to pay punitive duties if
the EU wins the case.
The European Commission agreed to open a dumping probe into
Chinese safety shoes on the request of representatives of the
European footwear industry.
The European players claimed that cheap Chinese footwear had
flooded their market and caused job losses in Europe. They claimed
EU footwear imports of six categories from China rose by 581
percent in quantity and 433 percent in value in the first four
months of this year, while the unit price fell by some 28
percent.
But figures from China's General Administration of Customs show
that the export quantity, value and unit price in these categories
grew by 22.8 percent, 59.5 percent and 30 percent respectively in
the period.
These six categories had been put under a prior EU import
licensing and inspection mechanism, beginning on February 1.
The EU was concerned about the threat posed to EU companies from
cheap Chinese shoe imports before quotas were removed at the start
of the year.
The EU's attempt to impose new restrictions on Chinese footwear
imports is groundless, Chong Quan, spokesman with China's Ministry of Commerce, said
on Friday.
"Its decision was made on inaccurate statistics and violates the
principle of free trade," he said.
(China Daily June 25, 2005)