BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Union will close a loophole that allowed Chinese exporters to avoid paying the bloc's anti-dumping duties by shipping millions of pairs of shoes through Macau, EU officials said on Wednesday.

Shoe exports from the former Portuguese colony -- which as a special economic region of China has a different customs status -- surged after the EU imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 16.5 percent on Chinese leather shoes in 2006.

EU foreign ministers approved extending the anti-dumping duties to include imports from Macau on Tuesday and the change will come into force in coming days.

An EU investigation found Macau's shoe exports to the bloc surged 16-fold from before the duties were applied, providing evidence of "clear circumvention of the measures", the EU said in a report.

The decision to impose anti-dumping duties on shoes from China and Vietnam for two years in 2006 split the EU between member states keen to protect their own shoe companies, led by Italy, and those, such as the Nordics, that want freer trade. That row could be revived in the next few months when the European Commission will have to decide whether to let the duties expire or extend them, while it reviews whether they are still needed.

(Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Robert Woodward)

Reuters Wednesday April 30 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk