Consumer group wants EU anti-dumping for China, Vietnam footwear lifted

The European Confederation of the Footwear Industry CEC has asked to extend the anti-dumping duties on Chinese shoes arguing this would be in the interest of European consumers.
However, the European consumer organisation BEUC strongly opposed this view, with its Director General, Monique Goyens, arguing that “facing already tough economic times, European consumers do not need an extension of the duties, artificially inflating consumer prices, but their removal. A decision to continue antidumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese shoes is anti-consumer, anti-trade and anti-competition.”
To the claim that the duties will be good for consumers since without them Asian producers will dominate the market and wipe out competition, the BEUC argued that “this is entirely speculative and without any proven foundation or data. Chinese and Vietnamese imports don’t compete with the luxury leather footwear exported by high-end producers in the EU, and trade barriers are not a driver for future competition.”
As regards the other fear that the “European” industry is doing just fine and that it only needs a level playing field to compete successfully, the BEUC said that “first of all, the companies calling for an extension of the duties by no means represent the entire European footwear industry. The European Footwear Alliance represents both producers and importers so CEC cannot claim it speaks on behalf of the whole EU industry. In addition, there is no doubt that the playing field already is level. The EU companies in CEC membership are performing very well. Much of their success is down to their ability to both plug into global supply chains and capture market share outside of the EU. By their own admission, they are "very much alive and competitive", "more vibrant then ever", with "ongoing investments", with "strong sales" – strange statements indeed from the very people who are also calling for more protectionism.
EFA comprises hundreds of small and medium sized enterprises and many of Europe’s most successful global footwear brands. It includes 2,000 footwear companies from across the EU, directly and indirectly employing over 1.5 mln people. It is made up of three European footwear bodies, the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (Adidas, Puma, Lotto, etc.), the European Branded Footwear Coalition (Camper, Diesel, ECCO, Levi’s, Timberland, Hush Puppies, Sebago, etc.) and the European Outdoors Group whose members account for over 90% of outdoor hiking and trekking sales in Europe.
EFA members design, market and import significant volumes of leather footwear from China and Vietnam subject to anti-dumping duties. Many of its members also have significant own footwear production inside and outside of the EU.