A group of shoe producers burned shoes on the street in Istanbul’s Beyazıt neighborhood on Tuesday in protest of Fatih Municipality’s decision to remove them from their workshops.
“We have produced and sold our products in Beyazıt and Gedikpaşa for many years now. They want to get us out of here and send us to İkitelli,” said Celal Fırat, a Beyazıt Gedikpaşa Artisan Association spokesman, in a statement during the protest.
“This decision is not for our benefit but only for the benefit of some property owners and some cooperatives that plan to rent us a workplace in İkitelli,” said Fırat.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
End trade war on shoes
Britain's shopkeepers have joined forces with the Government to urge European Union countries to vote against extending punitive tariffs on leather shoes from Asia at a crucial meeting on Thursday.
They have warned that extending the tariffs would "deal a hammer blow" to hard-pressed retailers and damage Europe's trade interests with Asia.
The original tariff was set for two years, but following a request in 2008 from members in favour the EU carried out a 15-month review, during which time the tariff remained.
European retailers, such as Clarks International, which have both stores and manufacturing operations, have paid about €800m (£710m) in import charges for leather shoes from the two Asian countries since the charges were introduced in 2006.
Alisdair Gray, the British Retail Consortium's director in Brussels, said: "As the UK shoe sector shows tentative signs of a recovery, the timing [of a tariff extension] could not be worse, and it would be another hammer blow for struggling shoe retailers as the UK limps out of recession. It is just protectionism."
BG Stores, the UK's fastest growing online store and owners of Shoes U Wear, said: "In our view, it is an unnecessary tariff that has not achieved its objective of protecting European footwear manufacturers."
They have warned that extending the tariffs would "deal a hammer blow" to hard-pressed retailers and damage Europe's trade interests with Asia.
The original tariff was set for two years, but following a request in 2008 from members in favour the EU carried out a 15-month review, during which time the tariff remained.
European retailers, such as Clarks International, which have both stores and manufacturing operations, have paid about €800m (£710m) in import charges for leather shoes from the two Asian countries since the charges were introduced in 2006.
Alisdair Gray, the British Retail Consortium's director in Brussels, said: "As the UK shoe sector shows tentative signs of a recovery, the timing [of a tariff extension] could not be worse, and it would be another hammer blow for struggling shoe retailers as the UK limps out of recession. It is just protectionism."
BG Stores, the UK's fastest growing online store and owners of Shoes U Wear, said: "In our view, it is an unnecessary tariff that has not achieved its objective of protecting European footwear manufacturers."
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