Filing an eight-page legal complaint, the Chinese government yesterday announced its decision to request consultations with the World Trade Organization to challenge the process by which the European Union decided on Dec. 22 to extend its anti-dumping measures on leather shoes from China and Vietnam for 15 more months. It is the second time that China is approaching the WTO to settle an anti-dumping dispute. Taking note of this request, the European Footwear Alliance, which represents big shoe importers and important groups such as the European Sporting Goods Industry Federation (Fesi) and the European Outdoor Group, argued that the extension of the duties opened the door to retaliatory measures on EU exports to China. Last year, when the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of iron and steel fasteners from China, the latter’s government responded with an appeal to the WTO and, on Dec. 23, announced similar anti-dumping measures on carbon-steel fasteners from the EU.
