Chinese footwear is expected to be the next subject of anti-dumping charges from the European Union now that Chinese textiles have been liberated from the European bloc's safeguard measures.

　　"The EU is likely to launch an investigation in a couple of days in two categories of labour safety shoes," Su Chaoying, secretary-general of the China Leather Association, said yesterday.

　　He said his association had already published earlier warnings to firms involved although China had not received any formal notice.

　　"We have called on enterprises to prepare to respond," he said.

　　The association will also help them to deal with any charges.

　　Su fears some firms may give up any fight because the volume involved is small.

　　He suggested all Chinese companies respond so as to win favourable treatment.

　　In 2004, China's labour safety shoe exports to the EU were worth US$55 million.

　　Su said that although the sum was not large, it might mark a beginning of the EU's series of anti-dumping cases.

　　Su's association predicted the EU would initiate investigations in several months into material and leather shoes from China.

　　"That will be a heavy blow to China's shoemaking industry as it might cover a vast range," he said.

　　The association also asked enterprises in the sector to keep a close watch.

　　Footwear manufacturer associations from some European countries, including Italy, Spain and Portugal, are reported to have asked the European Commission to curb footwear imports from China three times in the past six months.

　　They claimed the unit price of Chinese shoes fell sharply in the first four months of the year, while the quantity was increasing.

　　Statistics from China's General Administration of Customs showsthat China's footwear exports to the EU reached 257 million pairs in the first three months of the year, up 2.8 per cent year-on-year, while total value hit US$726 million in the period, up 30.8 per cent from the previous year.

　　The impact of China's exports was not as serious as the European companies claimed, said Wei Yafei, a spokeswoman with the association.

　　The EU, the second largest market of Chinese shoes, imported about 800 million pairs of shoes worth more than US$2 billion from China last year. It accounted for some 14.6 per cent of the country's exports.