EU'S Anti Circumvention Investigation Is Unpredictable.

The EU has imposed a 16.5% anti-dumping duty on Chinese leather shoes for two years.

Although the number of exports to Europe has declined and sales prices in European markets have been rising, Chinese leather shoes still do not seem to see the hope of breaking away from EU trade barriers.

At the beginning of September, the European Union suspected that the export of European leather shoes in China had been circumventing by p shipment in Macao. It announced that it would register and conduct anti circumvention investigations on imported footwear products imported from Macao.

At the end of October, several Chinese shoe enterprises completed the first round of reply to the EU anti-dumping lawsuit, but the situation remained uncertain.

Whether the EU anti-dumping period will be extended will cause widespread concern in the industry.

The situation of anti dumping litigation is unclear. In October 28th, our reporter received the first round of defense of the anti-dumping proceedings filed by AOKANG and other Chinese shoe companies.

China's appeal shoe companies such as AOKANG group, Wenzhou Tamar, Guangdong golden shoe and new HK dollar have all received the first written reply from the European Union Ministerial Council and other interested parties forwarded by the first instance court of the European Union.

In April this year, the European Commission, as an interest related direction, made a request for intervention by the first instance court of the European Union, expressing its support for the Council of the European Union.

Then in July, the European Footwear Association and 17 shoe manufacturers in Italy also made requests and intervened in the judicial process.

"As the first round of defense, the Council of the European Union made a defense response to the lawsuit filed by Chinese shoe enterprises one by one.

However, in the first round of defense, the European Commission did not enter the judicial process as a stakeholder, but only retained the right of oral defense.

Chinese shoe enterprises should deal with foreign trade barriers, cooperative organization legal adviser and attorney general Pu Ling said.

According to the European Union's anti-dumping judicial procedure, the second round of defense procedures will start soon, and the time will be one year.

In the second round, the Chinese side will mainly defend the defense points raised by the accused party in the first round of defense, such as the technical problems of dumping calculation, and how to apply the sampling investigation procedure.

Although the successful entry into the second stage of anti-dumping litigation, the situation is not clear.

Wang Zhentao, President of AOKANG group, said that Chinese shoe companies will strive to achieve breakthroughs in the second stage of the judicial process.

According to the insiders, the substantial changes in China's shoe companies are not yet seen, and the road to anti-dumping is still long.

The great uncertainty of anti circumvention investigation seems to be overshadowed by the EU's anti circumvention investigation.

In September 6th, the European Commission issued a notice on the official communiqu of the European Union, and decided that the European Union will register and conduct anti circumvention investigations on imported footwear products imported from Macao since the date of the announcement. The investigation period will be 9 months.

If there is any evasive action, the EU will impose anti-dumping duties on leather shoes imported from Macao, which is the same as the anti-dumping duty rate on products involving mainland China.

It is understood that the open data has become the reason for the EU to conduct an anti circumvention investigation.

Since the EU introduced anti-dumping duties last year, the number of leather shoes exported to Europe in mainland China has decreased significantly, while the number of leather shoes exported to Macao has increased significantly.

Taking Wenzhou as an example, the volume of exports in 2006 surged to 3 million 327 thousand US dollars, up 300 times over the same period last year.

In 2007 1~7, the trade volume of leather shoes in Macao reached $3 million 183 thousand, an increase of 162.52% over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Macao's exports to EU leather shoes have also increased significantly.

However, in accordance with the EU's requirements for the identity of the third country or the country of origin, only when the added value of the local production must reach more than 25% of the value of the product can we obtain the certificate of origin recognized by the European Union.

It is evasive behavior if it is just borrowed, or only slightly changed.

If the EU believes that circumvention is true, it will undoubtedly affect domestic shoe companies.

According to the provisions of the EU anti-dumping law, if the mainland's exports to the EU's shoe enterprises are circumventing by Macao, the products will be subject to anti-dumping duties.

EU claims that the anti circumvention investigation is mainly aimed at ensuring the continued effectiveness of anti-dumping measures.

Wang Ying, Secretary General of the footwear branch of China Light Industry Crafts Import and Export Association, said that the anti circumvention investigation may affect the Chinese shoe enterprises' application for adjusting the anti-dumping duty rate with the help of the EU review procedure, and the worst result is the extension of anti-dumping duties, so that all shoe exporting enterprises in Europe will be implicated.

Chinese enterprises self-discipline is the key. It is understood that Macao shoe enterprises are basically affiliated enterprises of the mainland enterprises, and the domestic shoe companies involved in the anti evasion survey are mainly those small businesses.

Large enterprises have strict and professional export channels to EU, so there is no problem of circumvention.

Ye Xindi, deputy director of the office of Wenzhou shoe leather association, told our reporter that Wenzhou was investigated by the European Union as a small business.

He said: "small businesses only export through foreign trade companies, and whether they involve re exports. Many enterprises are not clear about that."

Reporters then contacted several shoe companies in Wenzhou, which were not included in the EU investigation list.

Zhao Yumin, director of the international market research department of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that as China's footwear industry has been fully marketed, many shoe companies are large and small. It does not exclude individual enterprises from damaging their interests in pursuit of their own interests.

After the start of the anti circumvention investigation, enterprises sought help from industry associations and relevant chambers of Commerce.

Wang Ying said that the chamber of Commerce gave notice to enterprises early to remind enterprises to pay attention to it.

Ye Xindi said: "our association held a training course long ago to tell enterprises what to do in anti circumvention and anti absorption, and how to abide by the norms and rules of international trade."

It is understood that the next step of Wenzhou shoe leather association is to communicate with related enterprises.

However, the EU's anti circumvention investigation takes the form of a direct letter to the enterprise.

Zhao Yumin believes that because the association is positioned to serve the enterprise, the association has lost its original control over enterprises.

But in the view of the enterprise, the association still has a semi official color, so it still has to face some of the demands of the government.

Zhao Yumin said that the European Union did not directly investigate enterprises through relevant associations, making the association rather helpless.

Ye Xindi said that the most important thing for an enterprise is to improve the quality of products, attach importance to increasing the added value of products, and not be lucky enough to make breaches of international trade rules for shortcuts.

Zhao Yumin said: "for shoe enterprises, enterprise self-discipline is the key.

The shoe market is very free, and it is not difficult for a bad company to quit. "

Zhao Yumin believes that when some enterprises violate the rules, it is not a bad thing to regulate the market environment of the footwear industry by relying on the "external force" of the EU.