The price of a pair of leather shoes could rise by 20 per cent following a decision by the EU yesterday to impose tariffs on imports from China and Vietnam.
The new duties will be phased in over five months to cushion the impact of the increase on retailers and will not affect children's shoes or high-tech sports shoes.
EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said he was recommending duties of 19.4 per cent for China and 16.8 per cent for Vietnam to combat the illegal "dumping" of shoes in the EU.
He said an EU investigation had found compelling evidence of state intervention, dumping and injury to European manufacturers in both Asian countries.
He said these illegal practices had caused injury to EU producers, which had seen a 30 per cent drop in production since 2001 and the loss of 40,000 jobs from the sector.
EU states will discuss and likely rubber-stamp the duties in March. Retailers and wholesalers criticised the decision and warned it will increase the price of leather shoes.
"The European consumer will take the pain," said Paul Verrips, president of the European Footwear Association of Importers and Retail chains. "Import duties of this magnitude cannot be compensated. They will result in higher prices."
The decision to impose tariffs is controversial within the EU.
States with a small shoe industry - Sweden, Denmark and Ireland - favour free trade, while states with a large shoe industry, particularly Italy, favour the imposition of new tariffs and quotas.
"Europe must do more and can do more to defend its companies and its workers," said Italy's deputy industry minister, Adolfo Urso, who criticised the tariffs as too low.
But Fianna Fáil MEP Eoin Ryan criticised the tariffs as examples of protectionism. "Such an increase in the price of footwear in Ireland will hit both the consumer and the retailer quite badly," he said.
Mr Mandelson said just nine out of every 100 pairs of shoes would be affected by the new tariffs.
He also criticised retailers for not passing on wholesale price reductions to consumers over the past five years. Import prices had fallen 20 per cent since 2001 but consumer prices had remained stable, he said.
Last summer, the EU imposed tariffs and new quotas on certain types of clothing and lingerie imported from China, provoking outrage from European retailers and the Chinese government.
However, Mr Mandelson said the five-month phase-in period for the shoe tariffs and the decision not to impose quotas would mean there was no risk of a similar problem.