European tariffs on mainland footwear may benefit local producers of mid-priced to high-end products
The simmering row between China and the European Union (EU) over cheap footwear is not expected to damage Hong Kong shoe exporters and could even emerge as a temporary blessing in disguise.
With the EU poised to start anti-dumping action against cheap shoes from China, a Hong Kong exporter said dealers here mainly handle middle to high-priced footwear, so they would be unlikely to suffer as a result of the dispute.
The volume of low-cost shoes being produced in the mainland made prices unrealistic, he complained. If the EU limits imports of these by taking anti-dumping action, local exporters stand to gain because European buyers might start looking for more expensive products.
Last week, members of the European footwear industry appealed to EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson to take urgent action to restrict the influx of Chinese shoes, which they said had surged 700 per cent in the first four months of the year.
EU and Chinese trade officials recently hailed a deal over the influx of low-priced Chinese garments and textiles into Europe. The agreement caps the annual growth rate of imports so European industry can adjust to the flood of cheap products.
Complaining that the increase in shoe imports would destroy its trade, Roeland Smets, managing director of the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry, said the group was not asking Mr Mandelson to negotiate a similar deal to the one on textile imports.
