The introduction of a shoe import duty yesterday could cost Ireland € 7 million per annum and result in substantial price increases on leather imports from China and Vietnam, consumer and retail bodies have warned.
The new EU shoe import duty, which was implemented yesterday at a rate of 4 per cent will increase to 19.4 per cent on Chinese imports and 16.8 per cent on Vietnamese imports on a phased basis over the next five months. The duty is designed to protect the European shoe industry.
The Fashion and Footwear Federation in Ireland predicted an increase of between € 7 and € 15 in shoe prices in the coming months.
Yesterday, director of Retail Ireland Torlach Denihan said that a rise in shoe prices and a decrease in shoe sales will inevitably follow yesterday's introduction of the shoe import duty. He signalled, however, that the price of children's shoes or high-tech sports shoes would not be affected.
"The price of shoes in Ireland fell by 38 per cent in the last four years, yet a central argument made by Commissioner Mandelson is that the price of shoes to European consumers has been stable over the last four years," said Mr Denihan. He contended that countries with a small shoe industry such as Ireland had previously favoured free trade, while states with a large shoe industry, particularly Italy, had proposed new tariffs and quotas.
"This interim anti-dumping duty will be imposed for six months, and then Mandelson will conduct further investigation and decide whether to discontinue it or continue it and make the duty permanent. EU states will then have to vote whether to approve this and we will be urging the Government here to object to it," said Mr Denihan.
In February last, Mr Mandelson said that just nine out of every 100 pairs of shoes would be affected by the new tariffs.
This was rejected yesterday by Jim Whelan, chief executive of the Fashion and Footwear Federation in Ireland.
Mr Whelan said that the quantity of shoes manufactured in China and Vietnam and sold in Ireland is currently unknown because a large quantity of the products are now sold under "big brand names".
Dermott Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, concluded that the shoe import duty was "without a doubt an anti-consumer measure".