Brussels, 18/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - During a visit to Brussels on Tuesday to hold talks with Directorate General Trade officials at the European Commission on the anti-dumping investigation launched in July 2005 on leather shoes from China and Vietnam, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Le Van Bang warned the Union of the risks to the economy of his country should anti-dumping compensation duties hit shoe exports. “The EU anti-dumping investigation on leather footwear from Vietnam is an unprecedented threat to the economic development of the country, where the footwear industry (the country's third largest export sector) has played an important role in economic growth and alleviating poverty. Women working in the sector and their children would be the main victims should the EU turn its back on fair trade,” warned Mr Bang at a press conference following his working meeting. He felt that the Union risked “giving with one hand in development aid while taking away with the other in protectionist trade measures”. Vietnam, he added, benefited from the EU's Generalised System of Preferences, but this would be of little value to them if their main export industry was shut out of the European market. The Minister also stressed his desire to cooperate in finding a solution that is fair to everyone and takes account of the interests both parties, European consumers and Vietnamese manufacturers and workers. Peter Power, spokesman for Commissioner Peter Mandelson, promised that the Commission would, in its investigation, take account of all the economic imperatives. Mr Power also repeated that hasty conclusions should not be drawn at this stage in the investigation. While Vietnam has been completely overshadowed by China in the Commission's anti-dumping investigation up until now, the Union has opened the way for anti-dumping measures, possibly in the form of compensation surcharges or minimum import prices, against Vietnam by refusing free market economy status to eight leather shoe manufacturing companies.