Brussels, 28/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - In coming days, the Commission is expected to open an anti-dumping inquiry on imports of safety shoes and leather shoes from China, sources familiar with the dossier pointed out. “Written procedure is underway and should be completed in the near future (…) with a formal decision that opens an inquiry lasting up to nine months”, the EU explains. In the meantime, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of External Trade categorically asserted that the European dumping accusations are totally “without material or legal grounds”. The Commission had announced on 8 June that the monitoring system established after quotas had been eliminated for imports of certain categories of Chinese footwear on 1 January 2005 (not to be confused with textile quotas) revealed a rise of 681% in imports over the first four months of 2005, compared to the same period in 2004. At the same time, the Commission noted a 28% fall in prices. On the website of the Chinese Trade Ministry, the spokesperson said that these figures are the result of mistakes in the collection and processing of data and that the figures provided by the Chinese customs authorities show a rise of just 23% in these exports, with a 30% price rise. “China urges the EU to start with the facts, make prudent decisions and avoid trade frictions”, he said. Commission sources refute the allegations when it comes to mistaken figures. Data published for the first four months of 2005 represent real imports “but we are ready to verify them again with the Chinese, if they so wish”, a Commission source explained, stressing that, at any rate, the decision to open anti-dumping investigations is based on data collected and consolidated by Eurostat since 2002 and not only n figures for the first half of 2005.