SHENZHEN shoe manufacturers may suffer in the long run as the European Union's two-year
anti-dumping duty on Chinese-made leather shoes took effect Saturday, according to foreign
trade insiders in the city.
Under the EU's new policy, European shoe importers will pay a 16.5 percent tariff on
Chinese-made leather shoes for adults and 10 percent on shoes made in Vietnam.
According to EU figures, China exported 1.25 billion pairs of shoes to Europe in 2005. The
exports may drop 10 percent with the increased duties, members of the industry have said.
Trade experts said although Shenzhen only exports one-tenth of its leather shoes to EU
nations, the new policy is expected to have great impact on the city's shoe-manufacturing
sector as many manufacturers are eyeing the huge EU market potential.
The number of EU-oriented shoe manufacturers in Shenzhen increased to nearly 400 in 2005
from the 100-plus in 2004, with a total turnover of US0 million, according to
Shenzhen's trade and industry bureau.
In Wenzhou in eastern Zhejiang Province, Xu Hongzhen, deputy general manager of Jierda
Shoe-making Co. Ltd., said: "We're not at all surprised at the anti-dumping duty levied.
After all, it's not the first time."
In April, the EU imposed six-month tariffs of 19.4 percent on leather shoes from China and
16.8 percent on those from Vietnam. "Ever since then, I've known a long-term punitive duty
will come sooner or later, though it is extremely unwise for the EU to do so," Xu said.
"In the highly globalized international market today, the 16.5 percent anti-dumping duties
will not only drag China's shoe manufacturers down from their superior position amid
fierce competition but also make it hard for the medium- and small-sized firms to
survive," said Xu.
The anti-dumping duty sanction run counter to the free trade policy initiated by the
European Commission and in a real sense it will not save the declining shoe-making
industry of the EU, he said.
The EU's latest anti-dumping duties were also widely criticized by European business and
consumer groups, which say that such measures will lead to job losses in the retail sector
and hurt millions of consumers.
"Though the anti-dumping duty is a strike against Chinese shoes firms, the EU retailers
and consumers are also victims of the EU's decision," Zhou Yaohua, vice president of the
Wenzhou-based Dongyi Shoe-making Co. Ltd., said Saturday.
A major Chinese shoe-manufacturing base, Wenzhou is home to nearly 4,000 shoe
manufacturers, employing more than 400,000 workers and producing 600 million pairs of
shoes annually.
To counteract the impact of EU anti-dumping tariffs, Chinese shoe manufacturers are
looking at new markets in Southeast Asia, South America and Oceania as well as speeding up
expansion of the domestic market. In addition, Chinese shoe firms have begun to build
overseas factories in Russia, Nigeria and even in EU member countries.
"To cooperate with foreign shoe manufacturers would not only help Chinese firms avoid EU
anti-dumping duties, but also help Chinese shoes step into the international market," said
Xie Rongfang, secretary of the Wenzhou shoe and leather manufacturing industry
association.
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