EU extends penalty taxes on Chinese, Vietnamese shoes
(BRUSSELS) - The European Union, the world's biggest market, on Tuesday extended punitive taxes on imports of Chinese and Vietnamese shoes for a further 15 months.
The extension of anti-dumping duties, first introduced more than three years ago and hotly contested by Beijing, was rubber-stamped without debate by European environment ministers meeting in Brussels, the EU said in a statement.
The measures were introduced in retaliation for Asian footwear being sold in Europe at below production cost.
The anti-dumping measures in the EU -- home to half a billion people -- see import duties of 16.5 percent levied on Chinese shoes with leather uppers and 10 percent on the same kind of shoes from Vietnam.
Bigger manufacturers that make their shoes in Asia such as Diesel, Adidas and Puma, fought against the renewal of the shoe tariffs.
Figures from the European Commission show that Chinese and Vietnamese shoes make up 30 percent of the EU footwear market.
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