Posted on 03/23/2005 2:25:32 PM PST by jb6
Chinese government officials and shoemakers will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday, March 23, to find a solution to a crisis that was sparked earlier this month when Russian customs officials seized a shipment of Chinese shoes worth millions of dollars, reports Asia Times Online.
The seizure took place on March 12 during an armed police raid at a warehouse in a wholesale market in Moscow. More than 100 containers of shoes worth $9.7 million were taken from Chinese merchants who were accused of smuggling the goods into Russia. The shoes were owned by about 20 export companies from China’s Zhejiang Province.
China’s Ministries of Commerce and Foreign Affairs have expressed great concern over the issue and have raised it with the Russian authorities. Officials from the ministries will take part in the meeting along with a representative of the General Administration of Customs, local trade authorities from Zhejiang Province and the China Leather Industry Association.
According to the president of one of the export companies involved in the case, the shoes were confiscated because official customs papers could not be provided. The goods entered Russia through the “grey customs clearance” channel, which is a common practice in Russian-Chinese trade. Formal customs clearance normally takes around six months.
Irregular trade practices have been a major concern in Russian-Chinese trade relations, sparking many disputes in the past. The problems began after Russia allowed so-called “customs clearance” companies to conduct import transactions and provide “one-stop” services which combine transportation and customs clearance. While they make the customs clearance process much faster and offer favorable tariff policies, these companies do not supply customs clearance manifests which can create problems for Chinese merchants at a later date, when the goods are delivered to the place of sale.
Russia and China have already established a joint working group whose goal is to standardize the irregular trade activities between the two countries. At a time when trade turnover between Russia and China has already reached the annual level of $20 billion and is set to grow to $60 billion over the next few years solving such problems as the “shoe dispute” in question is a very pressing issue.
that is funny. a knock off of a knock off??
Hmmm...thousands of pairs of Nu Balonce, Adidias, Poma, Cunvirse and Nuke sneakers just waiting to hit the pavement.
The shoes for subs scandal?
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