Brazil mulls levy against Chinese shoes-report

The Brazilian government may impose an anti-dumping tax on imports of Chinese shoes as local producers allege the Asian country is selling the goods below cost in Brazil, Valor Economico reported on Thursday.

The Foreign Trade Chamber, known for its acronym of Camex in Portuguese, may announce on Aug. 26 a $25.99 temporary anti-dumping levy on every unit of Chinese-made shoes, Valor said, without saying how it obtained the information.

Global tennis producers including Adidas, Puma and Nike say the tax plan would make importing high-technology sport shoes unfeasible and are against the levy, Valor said.

Abicalcados, as the lobbying group for domestic producers is known, said the levy would only hike prices for 40 percent of the tennis supply in Brazil, Valor said.

The Brazilian government has imposed temporary levies on China-made car speakers and tires and for years and has considered additional taxes on batteries and other goods.

Brazil, the third-biggest producer of shoes, is also the fifth-largest importer of the goods in the world, according to Abicalcados.

Abicalcados, which requested for the imposition of the levy last October, said the measure would protect local producers. Trade Ministry officials in Brasilia were not available for comment.