Italian shoemakers want tariff on Vietnamese rivals extended

Italian shoe producers are pushing for the European Commission (EC) to renew anti-dumping tariffs on non-athletic leather shoes imported to Europe from Vietnam, a Vietnamese trade official said.

The 10 percent anti-dumping tariff, due to expire on October 7, has been in effect since 2006 after the EC ruled leather shoes from Vietnam and China were being sold at “unfair prices” in the European market.

The Italian Shoe Manufacturer's Association (ANCI) said imports from Vietnam and China were still hurting its 850 member companies.

The ANCI said it would ask for the tariffs to be extended for five more years, the official of the Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

However, he said other groups of shoe producers in Italy disagreed with ANCI’s proposal.

The EC will conduct an anti-dumping investigation on leather shoes imported from Vietnam and China to determine if the tariff will be renewed.

The anti-dumping tariff is imposed on top of the EC’s import tariffs.

Vietnamese leather shoes sold to the 27-member trade bloc have been limited to import tariffs of 3 to 5 percent under a preferential tariff program for poor countries.

However, the commission is removing Vietnam’s footwear industry from this program next year, and Vietnamese footwear will attract tariffs of up to 10 percent.

The 27-member European Union is Vietnam’s biggest shoe export market which last year contributed US$2.1 billion to the country’s total shoe export turnover of $4.5 billion.

Phu Quoc pearls may not be what they seem

With a reputation for having some of the world’s finest pearls, Phu Quoc island has been flooded with fakes.

At the Dinh Cau night market, where tourists often meander after a day at the beach, pearls are sold at same booths as souvenirs and toys for only a few hundred-thousand dong.

Dozens of stalls at the Ham Ninh Market sell pearl earrings for VND10,000 (US$0.6) apiece alongside snacks and drinks.

One pearl necklace costs VND300,000 ($18) while another that looks nearly identical costs VND3 million ($180).

Market vendor Hong Dao said the latter was made of real Phu Quoc pearls, worth much more than the Chinese pearls used to make the cheaper necklace.

Khong Thi Thanh Truc, a partner in a Japanese-Vietnamese pearl company, said Phu Quoc pearls are 10 times more expensive than Chinese pearls.

Vo Van Doi, a pearl trader in An Thoi Town, said he had just sold a 12-millimeter pearl to a foreigner for VND15 million ($903).

Doi said it was not easy to find genuine Phu Quoc pearls because fakes have flooded the market.

He explained that fake pearls were easy to make but could be discovered by rubbing two pearls together.

Fake pearls would loose their enamel this way, he said.

Doi also said that putting a flame to pearls was an easy way to tell a fake as imitation pearls would shrink or be deformed by high heat.

But few shop owners would allow their pearls to be tested that way, he said.

A veteran trader on the island, Doi said the local pearl market is more complicated than ever as shops don’t provide credible evidence of the origins of their pearls.

And the fake pearls are everywhere, he said.

Even fishmongers and motorbike drivers often approach Doi with cheap fake pearls, asking him to sell them to tourists for a commission.

As an established trader, Doi said he always refuses such offers.

And it is not only fake pearls or Chinese imports that are hindering the island’s reputation, but even some Phu Quoc pearl companies now sell lower-quality freshwater pearls as opposed to those taken from seawater oysters.

Phu Quoc is located some 115 km off the coast of Rach Gia, capital of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.