EU wants tariffs on Chinese shoes

The European Commission is proposing punitive import tariffs on leather shoes brought into the European Union from China and Vietnam. But EU governments are deeply divided over the plan - which requires approval by more than 50% of member states. The quantity of shoes imported from China and Vietnam has risen dramatically over the past five years. In 2005, 1.25 billion pairs were brought into the EU from China , and 265 million pairs from Vietnam . Low manufacturing costs in both countries mean that such imports are very cheap, and attractive to retailers.

But some European manufacturers are crying foul. They claim that their rivals in China and Vietnam receive government subsidies, enabling them to sell shoes abroad for less than the cost of making them - a process known as dumping. The European Commission agrees. After a lengthy investigation, it announced earlier this year that there was "compelling evidence of serious state intervention in the leather footwear sector in China and Vietnam".

In April, it introduced emergency tariffs on leather shoes, to protect European businesses from the effects of unfair competition. Those measures are due to expire in early October. The commission wants to replace them with a more formal system, under which imports from China would attract tariffs of 16.5% and imports from Vietnam, 10%. These duties would remain in place for up to five years.

A spokesman for EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the proposals were fully justified. "If we tolerate dumping, we send the signal that Europe tolerates unfair competition and unfair trade," he said. "Anti-dumping measures will not save uncompetitive producers - but they will create a market in which comparative advantage is exercised fairly." The move has strong support from countries such as Italy, Spain, Poland and Portugal, which are anxious to protect their own shoe producers.

"The damage caused by the dumping of shoes from China and Vietnam is very serious," one Italian official told the BBC. "In 2005, thousands of small companies closed down, and many more in the years before that. "Many of these companies are family businesses with only three or four employees. "We are not acting in a protectionist manner, and we are not trying to prevent imports of Chinese shoes. But free trade must be accompanied by fair trade."

But others insist the proposals are nothing short of protectionism, among them Syed Kamall, a UK Conservative member of the European Parliament. Countries such as the UK, Germany and the Nordic states believe that the proposals are too harsh, and represent an unwelcome barrier to trade. In an informal vote earlier this month, 14 member states said they would not back the proposals. If the same thing happens when formal talks take place later this month, the plan will be rejected.

For many observers, this case is about a great deal more than simple tariffs on a few 100 million pairs of shoes. It reflects a deep debate within the EU itself over globalisation, and how to react to the emergence of China as a trading superpower. And that debate is unlikely to be concluded quickly.