|
Footwear exporters face dumping lawsuits in Latin America
Footwear makers in Mexico and Peru are considering legal action against Vietnamese footwear exporters for dumping, a trade official has warned.
Bui Son Dung, deputy head of the trade ministry’s Vietnam Competition Management Department, said Tuesday Peruvian businesses filed a lawsuit a few years ago but no evidence was found.
“But they have not given up and keep asking authorities for further investigation,” he said.
Nguyen Thi Tong, secretary general of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, said authorities from Mexico’s antidumping agency have asked Vietnamese producers to supply information about footwear export to Mexico.
“That sent a message that Vietnamese footwear may face legal action from producers in Mexico,” she said.
Vietnam’s footwear exports to the two South American countries are still modest.
Tong, however, warned footwear producers to be prepared for lawsuits.
She told them their shipments should be easily traceable to illustrate fair and clear sources of production.
Vietnamese leather upper exporters last year faced antidumping tariffs of 10 percent slapped by the European Commission, which said the products were sold at unfair prices since 2006.
Even after the measures expired last October, the EC has kept them in place pending a review to decide whether to extend them.
Footwear exports in the first 11 months were worth around US$4.2 billion. It is expected to rise to $4.55 billion from the whole year, with 60 percent contributed by foreign invested businesses.
The EU is Vietnam’s largest market, buying 54 percent of its footwear exports, followed by the US and Japan.
Minh Quang
Thanh nien
|
