The European Commission opened a probe on Thursday into possible dumping of Chinese and Indian shoes into the European Union, Reuters quoted a spokeswoman as saying. "If as a result of the investigation started today, it is demonstrated that predatory prices are practiced then action will be considered," said Claude Veron-Reville, the Commission's spokeswoman for trade. She said the probe began at the request of European manufacturers and could take as long as 15 months, but that the Commission hoped to complete it in nine months. "A complaint launched by European industry alleges that imports are dumped and causing injury so we have examined this complaint ... and decided (on) the investigation which will start as of today," she said. A senior Chinese official would visit Brussels on Monday to discuss trade statistics and the shoe issue could be raised then, she said. Beijing has already said it is firmly opposed to an investigation by the 25-member bloc into allegations that Chinese exporters are dumping exports of "safety", or reinforced shoes". Earlier this month, the Commission said there had been a year-on-year rise of 681 percent in imports of six categories of Chinese footwear in the first four months of this year, while prices slipped 28 percent over the same period.
