The European Outdoor Group (EOG) is actively fighting for free trade within the outdoor sector.

As one part of the European Footwear Alliance the EOG is working on behalf of the outdoor sector to try to ensure a termination of the footwear anti-dumping duties. The recent announcement from the European Commission to launch a review of the duties on Chinese and Vietnamese footwear imports is seen as disappointing. Mark Held, Secretary General of the EOG commented that ‘the review would be against the wishes of the majority of the EOG members and could be seen to be detrimental to the footwear sector here in Europe. The Alliance aims to represent the wishes of the majority and hopes that any review undertaken is done quickly to allow as little continuing disruption to the sector as possible.’

Together the Alliance (Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry, the European Branded Footwear Coalition, the Hauptverband der Deutschen Schuhindustrie and the EOG) collectively represents a major share of the European footwear market as a whole, 98% of athletic footwear sales and approximately 80% of outdoor hiking and trekking sales.

Over the past few decades the industry has successfully restructured and invested highly in its operations in Europe, including research and development, marketing and distribution as well as manufacturing. It has embraced free trade, welcomed the opening up of the EU and third-country markets and has been an integral part of the European globalisation success story. Any continuation of duties would be seen as a negative and destructive move against a modern European footwear sector.

Notes to Editors:
The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry.
Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 46 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. Members account for 80% of hiking and trekking sales in Europe. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.

Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:
www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com
Or contact Vanessa Knowles, Tel: +44 1942 886402, vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com