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Vietnam calls on EU not to review anti-dumping tax on footwear
Vietnam calls on the European Union not to review its anti-dumping tax levied on Vietnamese leather-capped shoes and let the current tariff period go to an end on October 6, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh.
Vinh said that 15 out of the EU’s 27 member countries opposed the review of anti-dumping tax on leather-capped shoes imported from Vietnam at a meeting of the EU’s anti-dumping advisory committee.
The EC High Commissioner will meet to consider whether the expiry review will be continued or not, he said at a meeting with the press in Hanoi after accompanying Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem during his official visits to Belgium, the EC and Holland.
Deputy Minister Vinh confirmed that Vietnamese businesses did not dump leather-capped shoes into the EU market, and did not pursue a dumping policy.
He went on by saying that the demand to conduct review of the anti-dumping tax by a number of footwear producers does not (not) reflect the full viewpoint of European footwear enterprises, going contrary to the EU’s trend of free trade, ignoring the interest of consumers and relevant businesses.
According to Deputy Minister Vinh, EU businesses, which have advantages in capital, technology, designing and marketing, and Vietnamese businesses, with advantages in labour and skills, should cooperate with each other rather than confront.
Through cooperation, both sides will reach solutions of mutual benefit to provide better service for consumers, including EU’s consumers.
The Deputy Minister stressed that the 2009-2011 is a necessary preparatory period for Vietnam to actively take part in and fully implement its commitments to the WTO, and the Free Trade Agreement now under negotiation between ASEAN and EU.
The fact that Vietnam has been removed from the EU’s generalised system of preferences (GSP) for the 2009-2011 period and also considered to be imposed an anti-dumping tax rate of 10 percent in one and half years would cause serious difficulties for the Vietnamese footwear sector, affecting workers and their families, he stressed.
VNA
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