Most Chinese Shoe Enterprises Lose Their Voice In The Anti-Dumping Defense&Nbsp; Aokang Insists On Going Down

After five years of hard defense, Chinese shoe enterprises in the EU anti-dumping Before the big stick, there was a bright future. The reporter obtained information from the website of the Ministry of Commerce and the China Leather Association. The European Commission issued a notice on March 16, announcing that the anti-dumping measures against Chinese and Vietnamese leather shoes will expire soon because no review application from the EU Footwear Federation has been received. From March 31, 2011, the EU will officially stop imposing anti-dumping duties on leather shoes produced in Vietnam and China.

The European Union's anti-dumping against Chinese leather shoes for nearly five years finally ended at the end of this month.

Five years ago, why did this lawsuit arise

Five years! For Chinese shoe enterprises, the key five years of development, they were hit by the European Union.

In order to protect the interests of some shoe manufacturers in southern Europe, in October 2006, the EU decided to impose a high anti-dumping duty of 16.5% for two years on Chinese leather shoes. In October of the same year, Aokang Five Chinese shoe enterprises, including Wenzhou Taima, appealed to the EU lower court.

In May 2010, in other Shoe enterprise Aokang continued to appeal to the EU High Court when it announced that it would abandon the appeal.

It's 2011. On March 8, it was reported that anti-dumping measures against Chinese leather shoes were expected to end at the end of March.

On March 16, 2011, the European Commission officially announced that anti-dumping duties on Chinese leather shoes would be officially stopped from March 31, 2011.

　　 For five years, why only Aokang insisted on appealing

There is no doubt that the EU's "antidumping stick" has caused great damage to China's leather shoes industry. Guangdong and Wenzhou are the two major shoe export bases in China, with the most serious injuries.

Take Wenzhou as an example. According to the statistics of Hangzhou Customs, in the fourth quarter of 2006, Wenzhou leather shoes were exported to the European Union 31.4146 million pairs, with a value of 146.5 million dollars. The two indicators decreased by 32.63% and 41.55% respectively compared with the third quarter of 2006; Export enterprises also decreased by 7.89% compared with the third quarter.

　 In this five-year defense of "anti-dumping", most Chinese shoe enterprises lost their voices.

Last night, a factory owner in Longwan, Wenzhou told reporters that Aokang had approached him to discuss joint prosecution. But he gave up: "Never go to Europe to sell shoes."

The boss said that one of the important reasons for abandoning the lawsuit was that he was worried that the gain would outweigh the loss because of the long lawsuit time, complicated procedures, high risks, and high cost of human resources and financial resources.

Therefore, among more than 2000 Chinese enterprises affected by anti-dumping, only Aokang insisted on the defense to the end.

Wang Zhentao, President of Aokang Group and Vice President of China Leather Association, insisted: "The average unit price of Aokang's exported leather shoes is about US $20, which is five times the average export price of Wenzhou leather shoes. We do not have dumping."

"At that time, many enterprises didn't understand the rules of the game very well. We didn't want to be a pioneer, we were pioneers. In addition to making shoes, we also had a responsibility to the industry and society."

　 Whether China's shoe industry will be a smooth road in the future

The nearly five years of EU anti-dumping against Chinese leather shoes will finally come to an end. This is good news for China's shoe industry, but it does not mean that they will be relieved.

Wei Yafei, Director of the Office of China Leather Association, believes that while the European Commission announced the abolition of anti-dumping duties in its announcement, it also announced that it would closely monitor the export of leather shoes from China and Vietnam to the EU for a year, and would still take appropriate measures quickly if the situation required.

"Under such conditions, I think it is more important to improve the added value of our products, make our high-end products better, and improve the technological content of our products," Wei Yafei said.

"We should regulate our own trade behavior, improve product research and development and brand added value, open up multiple markets, optimize the export product structure, and focus on the construction and protection of independent intellectual property rights. Ultimately, we should rely on product quality to win in the international market, rather than relying on low prices to get volume. Only in this way can China's footwear industry take the initiative and win the voice on the international stage." President of Aokang Group Wang Zhentao, Vice President of China Leather Association, said.

For small and medium-sized shoe enterprises in Wenzhou, this is both an opportunity and a challenge. "We hope to export to Europe. We will no longer blindly export, but regulate our own trade behavior, improve product quality, and not let others grasp the handle," said Boss Li of Wenzhou Economic Development Zone.