Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-11-Speech-3-136"
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"en.20061011.16.3-136"2
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"Mr President, I endorse Mr Barón Crespo's objections concerning the Commission's conduct on such crucial discussions.
The question of antidumping duties on footwear has divided the Member States of the Union. It has also highlighted conflicting interests between manufacturers, on the one hand, and suppliers and consumers, on the other.
We, the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, continue to advocate multilateralism and open and balanced international trade. However, I consider the arguments put forward against the adoption of the measures in question, by which I mean protectionism for the benefit of the industry and the passing on of the cost to European consumers, to be misleading and unsubstantiated.
Ladies and gentlemen, it must be made clear that the imposition of duties is a justified legal commercial defence measure or, if you like, a productive protective measure. By contrast, dumping practices are a primary protective measure – and one which distorts trade. Given, therefore, that the application of dumping practices and the damage caused by them to the European industry have been confirmed, the failure to take measures would mean tolerance of unfair competition. To all those who put forward the argument of better prices against the imposition of duties I ask: did consumers benefit from the reduction in import prices following liberalisation? Clearly not. As the Commission itself confirms, there was no benefit to the European consumer, given that prices remained stable or even increased slightly in certain instances.
Ladies and gentlemen, the European Union should send a clear message: yes to competition; no to its manifest or concealed distortion. The Union is and will remain an open market to partners who respect the rules and disciplines of the multilateral trade system."@en1
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