The text of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and Vietnam, published by the European Commission earlier this week, includes adjustments to rapidly eliminate duties on footwear. The FTA agreement finalized in December sets the general period for removal of the duties at seven years for EU duties and ten years for Vietnamese duties, but the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi) has been holding talks with officials from the EU and Vietnam to obtain faster implementation for products relevant to the sports industry. As a result, Fesi says that most of the sports footwear should be duty-free as soon as the FTA is applied. The standard duty removal period applies for most leather footwear, but duties will be reduced to zero upon application of the FTA for sports footwear with leather uppers, and to three years for newly classified Athletic/Sports footwear. The duties on sports bags should also be eliminated from the start of the FTA's application. Fesi expects that it could still take nearly two years before the FTA is applied, around the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018. The federation will provide a more detailed update in the coming days.

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