Anti-dumping duties of between 4.56 percent and 43.46 percent will continue to be imposed on certain Chinese-made footwear for five more years, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
The announcement followed the ministry’s second “sunset review” to decide whether to continue imposing such duties until Jan. 16, 2024.
Three footwear associations in late 2017 filed complaints alleging that cheaper Chinese imports had cost their members business and had a substantial impact on the nation’s footwear industry.
An anti-dumping tax of up to 43.46 percent on certain types of Chinese footwear was imposed in 2007 and renewed in 2012 for five more years, in accordance with the Implementation Regulation on the Imposition of Countervailing and Antidumping Duties (平衡稅及反傾銷稅課徵實施辦法).
The duties apply to six categories — men’s footwear, women’s high heels and boots, children’s shoes, sandals and informal footwear, the Customs Administration said, but not but sports shoes, flip-flops and medical footwear.
The finance ministry said its reviews and a Ministry of Economic Affairs’ (MOEA) probe found that “dumping could reoccur and damage to local industry could continue if the government lifts its punitive duties against Chinese goods.”
“In addition, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ integrated analysis showed that there was no evidence that continuing the anti-dumping tariffs on the Chinese imports would have a negative impact on the nation’s economy,” it said.
Finance ministry data as of Dec. 12, 2017, showed that about NT$800 million (US$25.94 million at the current exchange rate) had been collected in duties, local media reported.
However, Chinese-made footwear still hold more than 30 percent share of Taiwan’s market, the reports said, citing Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), whose Tainan constituency is one of the major shoemaking areas in the nation.
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