I was furious to read your article on the proposed import duty tax for footwear (‘These boots are made for working', EMC, April). The duty on Chinese footwear is intended as protection to both Italian and Polish footwear manufacturers. Where was this duty when the British footwear industry was going bust?

China is not a third world country and is ruining the livelihoods of thousands of Western Europeans. As for the suggestion that a 50% duty will send the price so high that everyone will turn up on site in ballet pumps - this is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard.

Dickies might like to come clean about the cost to them of boots they sell for £30-40, because I am reliably informed that Chinese-made boots come into the country for less than a tenner. Speaking as one who avoided any injury at all in an accident thanks to my Rufflander Commandos (made in Derbyshire), I don't think that the cost of safety footwear would ever deter me from buying decent ppe.

We might all reflect that the cost of safety footwear has rocketed since the failure of the British footwear industry. If you don't buy British or European products then we will all suffer in the long term through lost jobs and revenue.

A huge percentage of the electrical accessories market is from China; this has occurred through greed on the part of wholesalers and electricians alike. Can people not see that buying goods from China contributes nothing to our economy through income tax, national insurance or business rates and is costly in terms of livelihoods?

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor

Postscript

Dana Neal, Albion Power, Burton-on-Trent