CRI听力: EU Tariff on Chinese Shoes Ends

Shoe makers in China have something to celebrate now. They see the EU lift the tax it placed on Chinese shoe imports. The move should open the European market to more Chinese firms wanting to sell to Europe as well as lowering the price of shoes for European consumers. CRI's Dominic Swire has the story.

The tax that the European Union imposed on cheap shoes imported from China has been in place for the past five years.

It was designed to protect European producers from cheap imports from China. However, critics claimed it amounted to protectionism.

Karl Sedlmeyer is a representative of the Federation of European Sporting Goods Industry. The organization represents many firms that produce shoes in China. He says the tax has made European firms less competitive.

"European production was protected by a quota regime beforehand for approximately 20 years... How many years of protection do they need? If they enjoy more or less a kind of window, not adapting to the real environment in which they are competing. It's not that they were protected but rather they have not built a competitive advantage for many, many years."

A tax of up to 16.5 percent was originally introduced in October 2006 on leather shoes from China and Vietnam. The move was controversial both in the EU and Asia. Not only did it make exporting more difficult for Chinese firms, it also raised the price of shoes for European consumers.

Karl Sedlmeyer from the Federation of European Sporting Goods Industry has no sympathy for those firms against the lifting of the tax.

"I think they knew it; we had tariffs implemented for close to 5 years. When the measures started with the provisional duties, the people should have seen this is not an endless additional artificial increase of certain imports."

While the tax has hurt business for some Chinese exporters, it's not all been bad news. Ding Kaijie is Associate Professor at the China Center for Comparative Politics and Economics. He says the tax has encouraged better pay for workers.

"So many enterprises will take advantage of the low cost of labour, but for the healthy development of Chinese enterprises I think the shoe firms should learn to improve their working practice and become more responsible for their workers. In China workers rights should be getting better, I think."

The European commission has said it will monitor the situation for one year, and possibly replace the tax in the future if necessary.

For CRI, I'm Dominic Swire.