EFA welcomes Slovakia's decision to oppose footwear AD duty

19 Dec '09

1 min read

The European Footwear Alliance welcomes Slovakia's decision to oppose an extension of anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese footwear imports.

“We welcome Slovakia's recognition that these do nothing but harm consumers, retailers and Europe's modern footwear industry,” said Gerd Rahbek-Clemmensen, Vice-President of Danish footwear company Ecco. “A majority of EU Member States oppose the measures and they must end, as foreseen by the Council more than two years ago.”

Note to the editor: In early November, the European Commission issued a proposal tabling a 15-month extension of the footwear duties. A majority of Member State representatives voted against the Commission's proposal at the “anti-dumping committee” (ADC) meeting of 19 November, but at a subsequent meeting Austria, Germany and Malta changed their minds and abstained. Under byzantine EU rules, abstentions count as votes in support of a Commission proposal. EU ministers will take a final vote on the anti-dumping duties on 22 December.

At the last vote the Member States lined up as follows: Click here for more details.

European Footwear Alliance

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