European Commissioner Peter Mandelson, in a letter to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) director general, has acknowledged the concerns of the retail sector on China-EU trade relations, particularly the EU's intentions to impose antidumping duties on leather footwear and plastic bag imports from China.

The letter came in response to a written plea from the BRC and 13 of the UK's top retail CEO's before Christmas, for the European Commission to act now to avoid a repeat of the textiles dispute last summer. The BRC fears that should protectionist countries like Italy and France have their way, the price of a pair of Chinese made shoes could go up by about £5.

In the letter, Mr Mandelson said he has made China-EU trade relations one of the key priorities of his mandate and is committed to ‘fostering growth in Europe by opening up our markets to competition'. He also agreed that anti dumping should not be used as an anti competitive shield against undesired imports.

The BRC is meeting China's Vice Minister for Trade, Gao Hucheng, on January 11 to discuss these concerns with the aim to preventing duties being imposed.