Europe to Put Shoe Tariffs on Vietnam and China

On Wednesday the European Union agreed to impose low-cost tariffs on the flow of cheap Asian shoes. This has sparked an enormous debate throughout the continent. Many advocates of free trade are eager to take part in the growing Asian economies, and fear alienating those markets. However, manufacturers have complained that the lower-paid Asian workers can make the shoes for a fraction of the cost.
The tariffs created a rift between Northern and Southern Europe. England, Germany, and the Nordic countries opposed the tariffs, while Italy, Portugal, Spain and France lobbied for them.
After numerous negotiations, the 25 countries of the EU reached a compromise- they would install tariffs for 2 years, as opposed to the 5 years that the European Commission recommended. The tariffs go into effect this Saturday. There will be a 16.5 percent tariff against China and 10 percent against Vietnam.
On another note, the European Trade Commissioner, Paul Mandelson, has decided to investigate their defensive trade tools, like anti-dumping tariffs; a victory for European retailers who have been lobbying for free trade. “We cannot argue for openness from others,” Mandelson said, “while sheltering behind barriers of our own.”
Do you agree with the EU’s decision to set tariffs? We learned in Chapter 1 that there are gains from trade, and that specialization leads to greater efficiency. However, some say that the low prices of Asian goods are unfair to European manufacturers. Is equity or efficiency more important here? The international community and the United States have recently placed pressure on China to increase the value of their currency, the yuan. Would this be more effective than the barriers to free trade?