EU court rules on anti-dumping law
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared partially invalid an anti-dumping regulation on certain leather footwear imports to the EU from China and Vietnam.
On October 5, 2006, the Council of the EU adopted a regulation imposing an anti-dumping duty on certain leather footwear imported from China and Vietnam into the EU.
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| Workers at Dong An Economic Investment and Development Company in Hanoi make shoes for export |
The rate of the anti-dumping duty was set at 16.5% for footwear manufactured by companies established in China (with the exception of the company Golden Step, whose anti-dumping duty was set at 9.7%) and at 10% for footwear manufactured by companies established in Vietnam.
In 2010 and 2012, Puma, a German sports goods company, requested the Principal Customs Office, Nuremberg in Germany repayment of the anti-dumping duty with respect to importation of the same goods, again on the basis that the regulation was invalid. The sum concerned amounted to approximately EUR5.1 million (US$5.6 million). When its request was rejected, Puma brought an action before the Finance Court, Munich.
Both national courts had doubts to the regulation's validity and therefore decided to seek a ruling from the Court of Justice.
