Shoe war hurts European firms

At the Asia-Pacific Leather Fair in Hong Kong at the end of March, there were 22 exhibitors in a Spanish pavilion called Top Style Hall. It was attracting many visitors but in the booths the mood was sombre.

'Ten years ago, Spanish footwear was doing fine and we had high hopes for the future,' said Alberto Sanchez, export manager for Martinelli, a respected name in quality footwear from Spain. 'But since 2001, the import of cheap shoes from Asia has seriously crippled the whole industry in Europe. My company has only escaped bankruptcy this year by drastically restructuring.'

He said his company, with only 250 workers, had to fire 100 this year and slash its output. 'We would not compromise on quality,' he said, 'So we have reduced our output and our takings have fallen accordingly.'

But one of his serious concerns, he said, was the harm that cheap shoes from Asia, particularly China, were doing to European feet.

'Parents are more likely to buy the cheap shoes for their kids, since they grow out of them so quickly but badly made shoes can harm growing feet. Shoemakers' organisations in Spain and Italy have been petitioning the European Commission to increase duty on shoes from Asia.'

Representations made by Anci, the Association of Italian Footwear Manufacturers and others, are bearing fruit. The European Union announced it would raise the tariff on leather shoes from China from 4.8 per cent to 19.4 per cent and from Vietnam to 16.8 per cent. The new tariffs began on April 7 and will gradually increase to the maximum over the next six months.