The European Union will prolong anti-dumping duties against imported Chinese and Vietnamese footwear for an additional 15 months after member states supported the measures by a narrow majority yesterday.
The duties were approved in spite of warnings that they would harm the EU's trade relations with China and Vietnam, and in spite of member states rejecting them during a non-binding vote in November. The move is likely to anger China.
The footwear case emerged as a closely-watched test of the EU's commitment to free trade in the middle of an economic recession. It has pitted small shoemakers in Italy and Spain against large retailers from the UK and elsewhere who have increasingly outsourced production to Asia.
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