EU Shoe Tariff Results In Chinese WTO Complaint
By: Ainsley Brown
In move that comes as no surprise, China has launched an official complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the European Union (EU) duties on imported Chinese shoes. And I saw this one coming a mile away; see my previous post on this issue.
The duties were imposed in December of last year for a 15 month period and were a continuation of duties imposed on certain imported Chinese and Vietnamese footwear put in place back in 2006. In an earlier vote held in November, the EU members rejected the extension of the duties; a moved which I applauded and believed would be maintained in the second vote. I was wrong. In the second vote, after heavy lobbying from the EU Commission Austria, Germany and Malta changed their votes and the duties were in turn extended. That is 16.5% on Chinese shoes and 10% on Vietnamese respectively.
In launching this complaint China has initiate the formal WTO dispute resolution process. The two parties are now in what’s called the consultation phase and they have 60 days to find a mutually acceptable solution.
