Vietnamese footwear to face higher anti-dumping duties
9 June 2006
The European Commission has raised anti-dumping duty on Vietnamese leather-upper shoes exported to the European Union, effective June 2. The increased anti-dumping duties are to be phased in over six months, beginning at the current rate of 4.2%, and finally reaching 16.8%. Since the anti-dumping case, footwear manufacture has decreased significantly threatening 500,000 jobs in the local shoe industry, as well as a large number of posts in related industries. Workers' average monthly incomes have already dropped from 1.2 million Vietnamese dong (US$81.8) to VND 1 million (US$62.9), according to recent research conducted by the NGO Action Aid Vietnam in coordination with the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association. The majority of shoes manufactured in Vietnam are produced under outsourcing contracts signed between footwear makers in Vietnam and their foreign partners. Vietnam exported 265 million pairs of shoes to the EU last year. Some 80 millions pairs will be affected by new tariffs, according to a recent EC press release.
