VietNamNet Bridge – Vu Ba Phu, Deputy Director of the
Competition Administration Department (CAD) under the Ministry of Industry and
Trade think that Vietnamese shoe makers should not try to compete with rivals
with low prices. They should control the
exports increases, or their products will bear tax re-imposition.

The
European Union (EU) has officially announced the removal of the anti-dumping
duties on leather capped shoes sourced from Vietnam, starting from April 1,
2011. This is really good news for Vietnamese shoe makers, who have been
suffering from the high duties. However, in a talk with local press agencies,
Vu Ba Phu, Deputy Director of CAD, said that Vietnamese should be cautious with
their exports in the time to come, and that there is still the possibility of
the EU re-imposing taxes on Vietnamese products.

How will Vietnamese shoe makers take
full advantage of the EU’s decision on removing the anti-dumping duties on
leather capped shoes?

The EU is
now the main export market for Vietnamese footwear products which consumes over
50 percent of total exports. In 2010, Vietnam’s footwear export growth
rate was lower than expected, with the export turnover reaching 5.09 billion
dollars. However, in 2011, as the anti-dumping duties have been removed, it is
expected that the footwear export turnover this year will reach 5.5-5.6 billion
dollars.

Some experts have warned that though
the EU has removed the anti-dumping duties, Vietnamese products will still find
it hard to compete in the EU market, because Chinese products are very cheap?

Enterprises
can compete through many ways, including the high quality and the right choice
of the targeted markets. If enterprises make popular products, they need to keep
the production costs at the lowest possible levels. Meanwhile, if they make
high grade products, they need to compete with high quality, deep understanding
of customers, or with media campaigns. I think that Vietnamese enterprises shoudn’t
necessarily compete with low prices, but they should target higher market
segments, including medium and high grade market segments. I believe that we
have advantages in making products to serve different market segments. Not only
in the EU, but in the US
market as well, Vietnamese footwear products have been highly appreciated for
high quality.

Can you see any possibility of the
EU to re-impose anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese shoes?

Though the
anti-dumping duties have been removed, but it is very likely that Vietnamese
leather capped shoes exports will still be put under a monitoring mechanism
like the monitoring mechanism once applied by the US
on Vietnam’s
garment exports. The European Commission (EC) will strictly supervise the
import volume from Vietnam
for one year. If the import volume increases sharply during that time, they may
immediately re-impose the anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese products.

Do you have any advices to shoe makers
in particular and Vietnamese exporters in general?

We have
learned many lessons about exporting to the EU market. When import countries
tend to increase the use of the tools to protect their local production,
enterprises should attach much importance to making medium and high class
products, fulfilling the contracts with high values, rather than trying to make
popular products with low production costs.

C. V