Brussels, January 18:

The European Union (EU) would deal a painful blow to Vietnam if Brussels slaps anti-dumping measures on Vietnamese shoe producers, a Vietnamese deputy warned, seeking a ‘win-win’ solution.

The European Commission is studying whether there is a case for anti-dumping measures against Vietnamese and Chinese shoe exporters following a complaint from southern European producers such as Italy, Portugal and Spain. Vietnamese deputy minister for foreign affairs Le Van Bang Bang stressed that the issue was important for ordinary Vietnamese workers and called on Brussels to adhere to principles of fair trade. “The footwear export industry has played an import role in the economic growth and alleviating poverty in Vietnam,” he said, “Women working in the sector and their children would be the main victims should the EU turn its back on fair trade.”

The case has been simmering since the commission opened an anti-dumping probe on July 7, 2005, into Chinese and Vietnamese leather-upper and reinforced work shoes. European Commission spokesman Peter Power said after Bang’s visit that “the commission will take into account all of the economic imperatives involved”.

However, he said that “it would premature to speak about any outcome” of the ongoing probe.

Bang insisted that Vietnam wanted to cooperate to find a solution. “We have come here to ask for a win-win solution, a fair play that considers the interests of all sides,” he said.

So far Vietnam has largely been overshadowed by China in the conflict as the EU investigates the dumping charges. Nevertheless, the EU opened the way for anti-dumping measures in December by refusing market economy status for eight Vietnamese companies in December, which could make it easier to prove dumping has taken place. Because the EU has not granted market economy status to China or Vietnam, it is approaching the issue on a company-by-company basis.

The anti-dumping measures in the EU’s arsenal include customs duties or minimum import prices.