The latest statistic from Argentina’s Footwear Association shows that footwear imported from China fell 33% to 75 million U.S. dollars in 2009 compared with that in 2008. Last year Argentina launched the anti-dumping investigations and provisional anti-dumping measures on footwear from China that greatly reduced the footwear import from China. Argentina’s Footwear Association predicts that footwear production made in Argentina could amount to 95 million pairs, which are slight less than the domestic market demand. The association said on a recent report that they urge government to impose the anti-dumping measure as soon as possible. Such report aroused strong opposition from importer and traders in Argentina. Argentina Chamber of Importers pointed out that footwear from China and Brazil with the good quality and lower price will play an active role on improvement of low income citizens. The trade protectionism couldn’t improve the enterprises competitiveness and people’s livelihood. Since Argentina’s government imposed a series of restriction on Chinese products at the end of 2008, bilateral foreign trade in 2009 had dropped to 8.829 billion U.S. dollars, down 35.8% from 2008, according to the latest report from Argentina Bureau of Statistic.
