Footloose and duty-free? Reflections onEuropean Union – Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Footwear from China

Abstract

European Union (EU) anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese leather footwear imports led to a challenge before the WTO Dispute Settlement body. The Panel ruled that the EU's presumption that Chinese exporters are subject to economy-wide non-market-economy anti-dumping duties was inconsistent with WTO obligations. The EU declined to appeal this outcome and subsequently changed its anti-dumping regulation in response. This dispute also illustrates the rapidly changing structure of global manufacturing and how these changes can scramble the traditional political economy of import restrictions. In addition, the case highlights how EU members' positions on trade remedy actions can depend importantly on national production patterns and firms' responses to economic pressures from globalization and the further development of global supply chains.

Panorama of natural fibers applied in Brazilian footwear: materials and market

“…The world market footwear has been through changes since 1990, due to the development of the global value chain, which influenced a shorter product life cycle, new methods of production, relationship between suppliers and geographic settings [10,11]. Before this period, the vertical industries were common, for example, the footwear industry was developing all the production process: designing, cutting, sewing, joining parts and finishing.…”

“…The interest in tariff barriers were concentrated in Italy, Spain and Portugal and, after, Poland, Slovakia and Romania. However countries such as Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia and England were against it, because of their footwear production in China and Vietnam [11,14]. The tariff barriers focused on leather material, due to the Italian production, which represented 46% in the European market.…”

“…The tariff barriers focused on leather material, due to the Italian production, which represented 46% in the European market. This excluded the model of sportive tennis [11].…”

“…The upper shoes (1-5) and sole (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12) are the major parts of the footwear, being the sole composed by three parts: insole (6 and 9), inner sole (7 and 8), and external sole (10)(11)(12) (Fig. 2) [26].…”

Boomerangs over Lac Léman: Transnational Lobbying and Foreign Venue Shopping in WTO Dispute Settlement

“…It took the panel much longer than anticipated to finish its report. Although most of the claims of the Chinese were rejected, the panel did rule in favour of China on some crucial points (see Dunoff and Moore, 2014…”