According to a statement by president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), Kevin Burke, whilst provisional anti-dumping duties on some imported footwear products have been approved by the European Commission (EC), the action would have been much worse but for a concerted lobbying and educational effort made by industry groups.

AAFA is disappointed with the EC’s decision to impose provisional dumping duties of 16.8% for European imports of leather shoes from Vietnam and 19.4% for European imports of leather shoes from China that are sold in European Union (EU) countries,” said Mr Burke. But the extent of these duties could have been much more severe and comprehensive. I believe our message did get through. Unfortunately, however, the EC's action will still result in significantly higher costs for footwear companies and significantly higher prices for consumers, without saving a single job."

He expressed appreciation to AAFA member companies that worked against the anti-dumping duties and thanked the Foreign Trade Association (FTA), the Footwear Association of Importers and Retail Chains (FAIR), the Federation of European Sporting Goods Industries (FESI) and the European Branded Footwear Coalition (EBFC) as well as the European retailer and consumer advocacy communities and the EU member countries that opposed the duties.

Mr Burke urged the EU to reconsider its voting method, noting that the decision to impose the duties actually received only three positive votes out of 25 EU member countries, with 11 abstentions – but those abstentions counted as yes” votes under EU law.