Word that the European Union has imposed anti-dumping tariffs on imports of Chinese- and Vietnamese- made leather shoes has China threatening relaliation.
The vote passed by a 13 to 12 margin in Brussels, and the new anti-dumping measures take effect on October 7, with import duties of 16.5 percent on Chinese shoes with leather uppers. The same type of shoes from Vietnam will be taxed at 10 percent.
The Chinese government says the anti-dumping measures lack a legal basis.
In a statement released on the China Leather Industry website, the leader of the shoe maker’s bloc alleged that “it was a violation of agreement of quota abolition among World Trade Organization members and was against the spirit of free trade.”
Brussels said that the tariffs would affect approximately one in 10 pairs of shoes sold in the European Union.
Last year, China exported over 1.2 billion pairs of shoes to the EU, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Vietnam exported 265 million pairs of shoes.