The Cold Thoughts behind the EU's Abolition of Anti-dumping Duty

After six years of difficult defenses, Chinese shoe companies finally “came out in the dark” before the EU anti-dumping big stick. The European Commission issued an announcement a few days ago and announced that from March 31, 2011, it officially suspended the anti-dumping duties of 16.5% on Chinese leather shoes.

Aonang Group Chairman Wang Zhenyu said on the same day that the cancellation of the dumping tax will undoubtedly be a "lightening burden" on exporters. This means that the EU's anti-dumping measures that have lasted for 16 years in China have temporarily come to an end, and Chinese shoe companies will also completely get rid of the high anti-dumping duty of 16.5%. However, behind this great news, the essence of "anti-dumping" has triggered the author's two cold reflections.

In today's economic globalization, the competition in various industries is becoming more and more fierce, and for Chinese shoe companies with cost advantages, there is a great opportunity to broaden the international market. This will naturally suffer from exclusion from other countries. The growing momentum of trade protectionism and growing trade frictions have caused Chinese shoe companies to fall into the dilemma of advancing and retreating. On the one hand, they are eager to expand new areas of development, and on the other hand, they have to bear the pressure of trade protection. It's really difficult for Chinese shoe companies. The EU's anti-dumping investigation on Chinese shoes is mainly based on the view that Chinese shoes have impacted the European footwear industry and reduced employment opportunities. However, in fact, this is not the case. Anti-dumping not only hinders the development of Chinese shoe companies, but also hurts the EU’s own economic interests. It is not conducive to the overall development of strategic partnership between the two sides. It can be described as harmless.

The EU's cold thinking on anti-dumping In fact, the slump in the European shoe industry is not directly related to the Chinese shoes entering the European market. After the EU vigorously carried out anti-dumping measures, it left scars that hurt its own interests. According to the statistics of the European Commission, before the elimination of quotas for global footwear products in 2005, the European footwear industry has already experienced a significant decline. From 1999 to 2001, the shoe production in the EU deteriorated. At the same time as exports were declining, imports continued to grow, resulting in the EU's market share in the local market fell from 58% in 1999 to 48% in 2002. The European footwear industry has been making layoffs due to losses. In this case, it is the Chinese shoe companies that brought vitality to the European retail industry.

According to statistics, there were about 12,600 shoe-making enterprises in the EU in 2003, employing about 31,700 workers, which accounted for only 0.91% of the EU's manufacturing employment. In the European Union, there are more than 80,000 footwear retail outlets and more than 30,000 jobs created. With the prosperity of the footwear market, the number of employees in related service industries is still increasing. In this case, the anti-dumping arguments put forward by the EU before it are really treacherous and nonsense. In addition to the anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese shoes, the import cost of Chinese shoes will increase, which means that EU importers and retailers will also need to increase their buying prices. This will expand the market for Chinese shoes that have lost their price advantage. The goal has become extremely difficult, and for those who like Chinese shoes, they have to spend more on the purchase cost to get a satisfied product. Not only that, but as more and more EU companies have outsourced their production processes to developing countries such as China in order to reduce costs, anti-dumping measures by the EU have also damaged the interests of these multinational companies.

In addition, the number of "containment" shoes imported from China has been replaced by other countries' leather shoes. Some Chinese shoe companies stated that anti-dumping measures caused many European customers to turn to countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, India, and China, Macau. According to media reports, the Austrian industry insiders analyzed the market reaction to the EU's implementation of the measure and found that the import of low-priced footwear has not been reduced.

Some people in the industry believe that this is because the footwear industry is a typical “jumping” industry, relying mainly on the benefits of labor and related low-cost competition, and therefore the EU’s trade protection to avoid the impact on the European footwear industry. The measure has no practical significance.

Chinese shoe companies' reflection on anti-dumping This six-year anti-dumping case is a big hit for Chinese shoe companies. While condemning the EU’s irrational trade protection practices, Chinese shoe companies should also be self-examination. In China, it is true that a small number of exporting shoe companies do violate the principle of fair competition in their employment systems, export links, etc. and need to be corrected and improved. Many shoe companies also lack awareness of international trade activities and are thus passive in anti-dumping.

According to news, despite the victory of Chinese shoe enterprises in this "shoes war" marathon, the EU has begun to seek new measures for control and introduced five measures for Chinese shoe products. Specifically, it includes once-a-week key monitoring to ensure that there is no unfair behavior, prompting the use of compulsory labeling for imported footwear products to clarify the origin of the logo, and strictly monitoring whether China’s shoe companies infringe intellectual property rights and requiring the Chinese government to open up the high-end shoe retail market. , as well as attention to China's shoe enterprises to enjoy various government subsidies.

After this bitter lesson, Chinese shoe companies should learn from their experience and learn to fully understand and master modern trade rules in the future development, pay attention to the progress of the international market economy, and constantly strengthen their own strengths, and use technological innovation to lead the progress of the company and get rid of it. The price advantage is a means to dominate the market and create a brand with strong advantages. In the face of anti-dumping, all shoe companies must work together to actively respond to legal means to defend their legitimate interests and enhance their ability to respond to anti-dumping lawsuits. At the same time, Chinese shoe companies can also look for other countries in foreign countries as a springboard for opening up the international market, which not only avoids the transitional dependence on an international market, but also reduces the entry into the anti-dumping marshland, and can also strive for greater development space for themselves. .

Related introduction "Shoe War" schedule:

In 2005, the European Commission launched an anti-dumping investigation on leather shoes made in China and Vietnam.

In May 2006, the EU uniformly imposed a 16.5% anti-dumping duty on leather shoes originating in China, with a period of two years.

After entering the sunset review after the expiry of the end of 2008 (that is, without changing the measures, only the ruling was “maintained” or “cancelled”), seven shoe companies such as Zhejiang Aokang and Fujian Jianle were drawn and entered a written reply procedure. Zhejiang Aokang only One.

In December 2009, the European Commission once again ruled that the anti-dumping duty be extended by 15 months until March 2011.