The European Commission is set to hold a technical meeting on June 29 in Brussels with all the interested parties to review possible changes in the current provisional anti-dumping duties on leather shoes from China and Vietnam prior to the adoption of final measures by next Oct. 7. One possibility being discussed by European Commissioner Peter Mandelson with the Vietnamese government is a system whereby the extra duties would be levied only on the products that come in beyond certain set volumes from that country, which was previously not subject to import quotas on footwear like China. A 5-year quota system would be established for leather shoes from Vietnam based on 2005 levels, with annual increases. The STAF exemption for athletic footwear from China and Vietnam is almost certain to be maintained, but there is strong speculation that the current exemption for children’s footwear will be cancelled (more in Shoe Intelligence).