EU shoe imports duty decision may affect consumers
24 Mar '06
3 min read
Retail Ireland, Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) criticised the European Commission's decision to adopt proposals by the European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty on leather shoes from China and Vietnam, and said it was bad for Irish consumers, and damaging to the Irish retail sector and the wider Irish economy.
Director of Retail Ireland Torlach Denihan outlined the following reasons why the measure was mistaken:
Inflationary impact: 'If the Commission proposal is implemented it will increase prices to the Irish consumer. The price of shoes in Ireland fell by 38% in the last four years, yet a central argument made by Commissioner Mandelson is that the price of shoes to European consumers has been stable over the last four years.'
'This shows how inappropriate his proposal is from an Irish perspective. The retail sector is being penalised when it passes best value on to the Irish consumer. Consumer choice will also suffer because retailers will have no option but to withdraw over time the lines of shoes affected by the proposed duties.'
Implications for employment and SMEs: 'Shoe sales in Ireland have increased by almost 50% since 2000, supporting many jobs in the retail and logistics sectors. Higher prices for shoes will inevitably mean reduced sales. The Commission proposal will jeopardise some of this employment and so should be resisted. Smaller retailers will be hit hardest because they have limited product ranges and frequently depend exclusively on shoe retailing.'
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.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "UBM China (Shanghai)")
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
