On Friday, October 28th, a WTO panel adjudicating the China - EU footwear dispute released its findings and conclusions.
The WTO panel ruling was a mixed bag for both the EU and China. The panel ruled in favor of China on the biggest issue in the case (whether or not the EU could impose a single tariff on all Chinese exporters in dumping cases), but ruled in favor of the EU on virtually every other issue. In February 2010, China asked the WTO to form a panel to adjudicate several supposed flaws in the EU's dumping investigation into Chinese footwear. Although China challenged 30 aspects of the EU's footwear investigation, the most important part of China's complaint challenged the EU's practice of applying the same tariff rate in China dumping cases to all Chinese exporters, regardless of their individual circumstances.
Although the EU announced in March 2011 that the EU had decided to remove its China footwear tariffs, the WTO panel continued with its work (WTO panels, unlike U.S. courts, do not abide by a mootness doctrine which would require the panel to refrain from a decision if the underlying cause of the dispute has gone away). On October 28th, the panel issued its decision. The panel ordered the EU to henceforth permit Chinese exporters to apply for individual tariff rates, while ruling against China on 28 of the remaining 29 more minor issues.