The EU General Court ruled, on 4 March, against a joined case brought by Chinese footwear producers, who claimed the European Union’s anti-dumping tariffs on shoes were illegal, judging the current trade measures were justified. “The anti-dumping measure [...] thus remains in force,” the court declared.

Case T-407/06, brought by Zhejiang Aokang Shoes Co., established in Yongjia (China), and Case T-408/06, brought by Wenzhou Taima Shoes Co., Ltd, established in Wenzhou (China), called for the partial annulment of Council Regulation (EC) No 1472/2006 of 5 October 2006, which applied anti-dumping duties on leather footwear from China and Vietnam.

The application focused on the technical definition of ‘dumping’ and the way of calculating damage, or potential damage, to the European footwear industry. The court, however, dismissed the applicants’ arguments and agreed with the EU’s approach to the maths quantifying the ‘injury’ to the domestic industry.

China made a complaint to the World Trade Organisation in February over the same anti-dumping measures. The EU decided, in December 2009, to extend the duration of tariffs against the two countries for a further 15 months. Beijing accuses the 27-member bloc of protectionism. Some European-based footwear companies, which outsource production to Asia, also oppose the measures, which they say put up costs for them and for their consumers. The EU’s position has always been an emphatic defence of what it sees as a legitimate protection against unfairly low import prices, which disadvantage footwear companies manufacturing within Europe.

The applicants were ordered to pay their own costs and those of the defendants.

By Chiade O’Shea | Friday 05 March 2010  

Source: www.europolitics.info