Russian shoe makers are preparing for Russia's entry into the WTO

December 7, 2011 at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation within the framework of the round table “World footwear market. Prospects and Challenges for Russia ”, a discussion of the current situation in the footwear industry was held and problems that the industry may face when Russia joins the World Trade Organization.

Leading experts in their field, representatives of manufacturers of shoes, shoe retail and specialized media expressed their views on the possible benefits and risks for the shoe industry when Russia joins the WTO.

Alexander Borisov, Chairman of the RF CCI Committee for the Development of the Consumer Market and General Director of the Moscow International Business Association, noted in his report "Consumer Market of Russia: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" that the production capacity of global manufacturers allows to meet 2,5 times more needs than all population of the globe. Today the main problem is not to produce, but to sell. Manufacturers understand this and try to take into account the needs and opinions of their consumers. The emerging problems are intended to be resolved by the created Council of Entrepreneurs and Retailers of the Shoe Industry - the National Shoe Union, which organized this "round table".

Then Natalia Demidova, General Director of the National Shoe Union, presented her report on the topic: “World Shoe Congress. The state of the footwear market in Russia, the Customs Union ", where analytical studies of international experts were presented at the World Footwear Congress held in Brazil. The expert also noted that the problems typical of the Russian footwear market, such as international congress were not discussed. Shoemakers around the world today are concerned about improving the quality of products, reducing costs, protecting the environment, while not forgetting to take into account all modern trends.

Touching on the situation in Russia, Natalya Demidova noted that contrary to the economic realities of the market, the government decided to increase the customs duty on certain types of leather shoes, which would hit the end consumer’s pockets. The National Shoe Union intends to seek a review of the decision.

The problems and prospects of the sports shoe market in his speech were highlighted by Sergey Drozdov, head of the department for relations with state and public organizations of the SportMaster company, a member of the Association of Entrepreneurs of the Sports Industry (API). Sergey Drozdov noted that the NDEP members are concerned about the increase in duty, since 95% of sports shoes in the shoe market of our country are imported. Sports shoes are high-tech products and branded goods that cannot be produced even under licenses in our country due to outdated equipment. Also, sports industry enterprises face big problems at customs, preferring to import goods through third countries.

This statement was offended by Leonid Lozbenko, a member of the board of the All-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized enterprises “Opora Rossii”, the chairman of the committee on foreign economic activity and customs, who in his report “Russia's accession to the WTO” emphasized that, 52% of the country's budget revenues are given by customs duties. For comparison, the expert cited the following figures: in China, the share of customs in the country's budget is 17%, and in developed countries only 4-7%. Next year, they plan to reduce customs personnel by 20%, although no one has canceled the plan for customs duties. Analysis and risk management - this is the main problem that needs to be addressed to entrepreneurs of Russia and the Customs Union. About this writes the IA "RIA Fashion".