Footwear industries call for regulatory harmonization

Trade associations on both sides of the Atlantic urged duty-free treatment for footwear and other steps to make it easier to sell shoes between the United States and the European Union.    Three trade associations representing U.S. and European footwear industries issued a joint statement Wednesday urging the United States and the European Union to eliminate footwear trade barriers in a free trade agreement currently under negotiation.
  The 13th round of talks for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership took place in New York in April and the next round is scheduled for this summer in Europe.
   The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry (CEC), and the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America called for full, immediate and reciprocal elimination of all tariffs on footwear products, along with shared regulatory standards to reduce the cost of compliance.
   Other priorities for the free trade agreement are:

     • Harmonization of labelling, product safety, testing regulations and prohibited substances;
     • Inclusion of customs facilitation provisions;
     • Flexibility in determining rules of origin;
     • And Regulatory convergence and/or mutual recognition of regulations and standards.

   “The U.S. and European markets represent the largest global footwear arena, collectively purchasing 40 percent of the world’s shoes,” AAFA President Rick Helfenbein said in a statement. “Harmonization of footwear regulations and standards and duty-free access across this region will reduce cost and add definitive benefits to our members and to their customers.”
  “A satisfactory T-TIP does not represent lowering the safety, social, and environmental standards in the footwear industry in any side of the Atlantic,” CEC President Cleto Sagripanti said. “Consumers, everyday more sensible to the nature and origin of products, should be guaranteed that American and European companies speak the same language in terms of the safety of shoes they manufacture.”