EU protectionism rises — from shoes to steel

Even with the tariffs, all-EU-made footwear industries will continue to shrink. The 2006 tariffs simply diverted footwear imports from one lower-cost production centre to another. Vietnam and China's loss has been a gain for other Asian producers: Indonesian footwear exports to the EU have jumped by 36 percent since 2006.

Recognizing futility and potential retaliation, even Peter Mandelson, who implemented these tariffs when he was EU Trade Commissioner in 2006, admitted recently that they would “not help our long-term trade interests.”

But the complicated maze of EU procedure gave lobbyists plenty of time to ply their craft. Despite a November recommendation from the Anti-Dumping Committee to repeal the tariffs, three EU countries flip-flopped, leaving a majority for extending the tariffs at the Ministerial ruling on December 22.

On issues ranging from human rights to conflict, EU leaders think they hold world's moral compass and point the way forward. But on trade policy — where the EU has a chance to help both its own economies and the rest of the world—Brussels is heading backwards.

All these trade barriers hamper trade and recovery: the EU must stop hurting the most competitive EU companies, damaging business partners and provoking retaliation. By punishing cheaper, more efficient, producers they are forcing European consumers to foot the bill for protectionism.

Alec van Gelder is a Project Director and Timothy Cox a Research Fellow at International Policy Network, an independent economic-development think-tank in London.

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