The European footwear industry

EU aims to promote innovation, competitiveness and competition between companies involved in the footwear sector, combat fraud and counterfeiting, and protect consumers' health and the environment.

Two thirds of the total EU footwear production is actually concentrated in three countries: Italy, Spain and Portugal with Italy producing around 50% of EU production.

The European footwear industry consists of a large number of small enterprises (some 20 employees), most of which are located in regions with little industrial diversity. However, there are differences from one member state to the other: French and German businesses employ about 100 workers, while Spanish and Italian businesses employ about a dozen. The other Member States lie between these two extremes.

The European footwear industry is highly competitive, both on the European Union (EU)'s internal market, and on global markets mostly due to its quality, design and fashion attributes. However, there still exists trade deficit in the footwear sector caused by the growing difficulty of EU industry to compete with countries with low labour costs and less regulation and the strength of the Euro.

The main suppliers of footwear to the EU are China and Vietnam, which together account for more than 60% of the footwear imports into the EU (in value). The main markets for EU footwear are the USA, Russia and Switzerland.

Many potential export markets remain virtually closed. High tariffs and the continued prevalence of different non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in the footwear industry constitute a significant disincentive for SMEs to participate and benefit from international trade. Against this background, increased market access to emerging economies that have a growing middle class is of strategic importance, as these represent a quality-conscious market where the EU has the highest competitive advantage.

The main trade priorities for the footwear sector are as follows: to improve market access for EU products notably by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers; in view of the limited growth potential of the EU's internal market, and the fact that steadily growing low-priced imports are gaining an ever-increasing share of that market, open export markets are the only way of increasing EU production, or at least maintaining it at present levels.

Based on market access analysis, as well as analysis of NTBs notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) carried out by the Commission services, a number of main barriers have been identified which are of relevance for the multilateral negotiations on non-agricultural market access (NAMA). In particular, the EU has proposed harmonisation and more transparency on barriers such as labelling, certifications of conformity procedures, export restrictions and importers' registration.

In addition to the WTO's multilateral negotiations, market access potential can be improved by efforts to negotiate Free Trade Agreements with markets with high potential such as Korea, India and Mercosur.

The European Union monitors compliance by third countries with bilateral or multilateral obligations, and attempts to abolish barriers by means of available trade policy instruments (such as WTO litigation procedures resulting from the application of the Trade Barriers Regulation).

Brand and product piracy is one of the biggest threats to EU industry. According to OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) estimations, fake products have a share of about 8% of global trade. Apart from legislative and political measures as well as awareness raising, the Commission's Customs Action Plan as well as bilateral Action programmes and Dialogues with non-EU countries help in this matter.

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