Vietnam called on the European Union to end its antidumping duties on leather footwear, denouncing the "hard" impact it has on local companies and employment.
The trade ministry in a statement received Tuesday said the tax -- which the EU slaps on imports it deems too low -- affected the employment of more than half a million workers in Vietnam.
Exports from Vietnam to the EU of shoes with leather uppers have fallen from 120,400 in 2005 to 91,000 last year, according to the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso).
"About 20 to 25 percent of footwear manufacturers were hard hit by the antidumping measures and 40.000 workers lost their jobs in the last two years,” the ministry's statement said.
The antidumping measures were introduced by the EU in 2006 to combat an influx of leather shoes from Vietnam and China, where Brussels said manufacturers were getting unfair state aid.