Robert Sturdy warns of shoe price hike
SHOE HIKE LIKELY AFTER UK TRADE COMMISSIONER BOWS TO PRESSURE
Brussels 14 October 2009. Conservative International Trade spokesman Robert Sturdy said Britain’s hard-pressed consumers would be hit further after Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton chose to extend ‘anti-dumping’ for another 15 months.
The so-called ‘anti-dumping’ measures currently in place will see additional duties on shoes of 16.5 percent from China, and 10 percent on shoes from Vietnam over the next two years.
Mr Sturdy said UK consumers and local retailers would feel the brunt of the duties at a time when other household bills are rising sharply.
He said:
“Commissioner Ashton’s has bowed to pressure from Mediterranean countries. Shoe prices in the UK could increase unnecessarily as a result at a time when we are already facing higher household bills.
“This extension is a vain attempt to protect Mediterranean leather shoe manufacturers who need to face up to the fact they cannot produce shoes more cheaply than Asian countries. China needs to be seen as an opportunity, but the EU is still treating it as a threat and trying to block it out.
“Free trade is good for consumers and it creates more and better jobs. It may be painful for some, but the EU will gain in the long run. Burying our heads in the sand and pretending globalisation has never happened is the totally wrong approach. I have written to Lord Davies of Abersoch, the Minister of State for Trade promotion and Investment calling on him not to succumb to the legislation and to stand strong on the issue in the European Council.” Ends
Contact: Robert +32 (0)2284 5294
ECR Press Office – Alex Benjamin +32 (0)476 056 450
