This was confirmed by lawyer Pham Liem Chinh, an expert on international trade laws, during a recent interview granted to VOV. The following are excerpts from the interview.

VOV: What is your assessment of the European Union Council's recent decision to extend its anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese leather shoes imported to the European market for another 15 months?
Mr Chinh: The result (with 14 votes for and 13 against) showed that the European Commission (EC) was still hesitant about whether or not to extend the deadline for its duties.   

It is true that Vietnam does not dump its products on the European market. Our prices are lower than those offered by European shoemakers, because of our lower labour costs and simpler methods of production. Therefore, our products are preferred by European consumers, and have actually secured a firm foothold in this large lucrative market.

The imposition of high duties on Vietnamese shoes over the past three years and the recent decision to extend the deadline for another 15 months, starting on January 3, 2010, is unfair and will cause big losses to the Vietnamese shoemaking industry and affect many employees.

VOV: From an international law perspective, what can Vietnam do in this case?
Mr Chinh: The WTO pursues trade liberalisation which has been committed by its member countries. Vietnam has opened up its markets and has gradually implemented its commitments to the WTO. This means our products should be treated fairly when penetrating developed markets. It is obviously an unjust decision made by the EC in pursuit of its protectionist measures which run counter to the WTO principles.

Vietnam joined the WTO 3 years ago and it has the right to lodge a protest to the organisation for reconsideration, hoping that its ruling of international magnitude has to be respected and observed the EC.

VOV: The EC had sent a number of delegations to Vietnam to look into the case before coming up with the decision. Have their conclusions been taken into account?
Mr Chinh: If Vietnamese businesses are found to have had a motive of unhealthy competition and are found to have dumped their products on any market, an independent jurisdiction agency will launch an investigation and make a final decision. That is the WTO. The EC’s investigations and conclusions are not convincing enough in this case.

The bottom line is that we have to take measures and use the legal measures available to protect our interests. What will happen to Vietnam if the European Confederation of the Shoe Retailers Association continues to propose another extension after 15 months from now? I think the settlement of international trade disputes within the WTO is a common occurrence.

VOV: But filing a protest to the WTO is completely new to Vietnam, isn’t it?
Mr Chinh: That’s true and this requires Vietnam to make careful legal preparations. Take China, which will also have to pay the 16.5percent tax on their shoes imported to the EU for another 15 months as an example. After the European Union Council decided to extend the deadline, China said that it was preparing to take legal action against the EU. It also announced that it will impose high duties on several European products imported to China.  

Vietnam is a developing economy which is not as strong as China’s, but it needs to make careful legal preparations for this case.

VOV: What do craft associations, especially the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, need to be able to cope with similar cases in the future?
Mr Chinh: We have gained a lot of experience in settling international lawsuits, including those on shrimp, Tra and Basa fish exported to the US and other markets.

International trade disputes will probably occur more frequently in the future and craft associations need to draw up long-term plans to cope with this. Besides just stating that we do not dump our products and their decisions affect our employees, we should make full use of international legal instruments to protect our products. In other words, Vietnam should draw up strategies to safeguard its staple exports.

I think all associations need to study legal matters concerning their sectors and learn from international experience. They should also work closely with relevant State agencies and experienced legal firms to learn more about legal affairs and know how to promptly respond to possible related lawsuits in the future.

VOV: Is it true that Vietnam lacks an adequate number of competent lawyers to deal with international trade disputes?
Mr Chinh: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung talked about this issue during a meeting with Vietnamese lawyers several weeks ago. Currently, we are formulating a project to train young lawyers to international standards to protect the legitimate rights and interests of businesses and the public during the integration process.

 It’s worth remembering that we have a number of lawyers trained abroad and provided with an in-depth knowledge of international trade regulations. Fluent in foreign languages, they have assisted Vietnamese businesses a lot in recent trade disputes.

Of course we need more such lawyers, but it is time for craft associations and legal experts to work closer together to protect our products in legal proceedings.