HANOI, Nov. 14 - The European Commission (EC)’s Trade Defence Directorate is set to launch a term-end review of the current anti-dumping duties imposed on leather shoes imported from Vietnam at the request of European shoe manufacturers.

Trade Defence Directorate Director Stefaan Depypere informed a press briefing in Hanoi on Nov. 13 that the aim of his visit to Vietnam was to make inquiries and hold discussions with local relevant parties regarding a number of issues related to anti-dumping duties levied on Vietnamese leather shoes.

Depypere said that his directorate would make an objective announcement following discussions with European leather and shoe producers, as well as manufacturers, exporters and other concerned agencies in Vietnam.

According to the EC trade official, the review would be conducted at any one out of a total of 450 local shoe businesses. The European Union member states will then make a decision on the possibility of lifting the anti-dumping tariffs.

Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) Chairman Nguyen Van Thuan said that Lefaso has officially lodged a document opposing the imposition of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese leather shoes.

The anti-dumping taxes have had a negative impact on the employment status of 500,000 local workers and the leather footwear industry as a whole, Thuan said.

The EC has imposed anti-dumping duties of 10 percent on leather shoes imported from Vietnam since July 2006, after it claimed the Vietnamese leather shoe industry was devaluing the prices of its products in the EU market.

Over 120 million pairs of leather shoes were exported to the EU in 2005, but this number fell to 107 million pairs in 2006 and slumped further to 91 million pairs in 2007 due to the anti-dumping measures.

In August 2008, Lefaso invited a Belgian law firm to help them argue their case.

Late last year, the EC also decided to remove Vietnamese footwear from its generalized system of preferences (GSP) for the 2009-2011 period. (PNA/VNA)