ECJ Says European Commission Legally Reimposed Duties on Footwear From China, Vietnam

The European Court of Justice on Sept. 8 ruled the EU properly reimposed antidumping duties on certain footwear with uppers of leather from China and Vietnam. Ruling against German footwear company Puma, the bloc's highest court said the European Commission in 2016 legally reimposed the duties of up to 16.5%.

In 2016, Puma, along with C & J Clark International, asked the EU General Court to remove the duties originally implemented in 2006, annulled and then reimposed on Chinese and Vietnamese footwear. The case vied for lower dumping margins and refunds for the annulled duties. The ECJ ruled the General Court clearly laid out the reasons that the commission legally reimposed the duties.

Puma argued that the General Court violated the principle of proportionality when it found the importers had not specified the reasons why they took the view the implementing regulations should be classified as inappropriate. The shoe company said that since the EU industry was properly protected until the date the duties were reimposed, putting the duties back on would not offer any further protection. The ECJ disagreed, finding the reimposed duties affect only imports entered from 2006 to 2011 and don't impose any obligation that goes further than those stemming from the regulations.