A decision to maintain the tariff wall will worsen East-West trade tensions as the World Trade Organisation tries to rally support for completion of the Doha Round of trade cheap shoes. President Obama gave his backing this month to anti-dumping measures against imports of Chinese car tyres, a protectionist move that was widely criticised for pandering to American labour unions.
The European cheap shoes against Asian footwear were imposed in response to a surge in Chinese textile and leather imports and signs of distress among traditional footwear manufacturers in Italy, France, Spain and Poland.
However, 15 member states, mainly from Northern Europe, opposed the duties and want the measures to be lifted. Opposition is vigorous from big retailers and cheap shoes, such as adidas and Nike, the sports shoe brands, which source their products from low-cost manufacturing countries, such as cheap shoes.