GRTU – Malta Chamber for SMEs representing Maltese traders and retailers believes the Government of Malta should be ashamed of itself for abstaining on a crucial vote for the imposition of 16.5 per cent and 10 per cent tariffs on shoes imported from China and Vietnam.

Maltese consumers and traders still have to suffer the burden of a previous decision to raise tariffs on shoes. The government’s decision is bad on principle, bad on facts and bad for competitiveness, GRTU said. At a COMEU meeting, GRTU argued that the figures on which the Ministry of Finance based its recommendations to Malta’s Permanent Representative in Brussels to support the EU Commission’s negative stance, were wrong.

They presented calculations on the wrong choice of statistics and without consulting the Maltese trading houses that could have presented the right facts and the exact figures and impact on consumer prices in Malta. Why should Malta defend the jobs of workers in Romania, especially, and elsewhere, but vote against the jobs of the Maltese? GRTU expects Malta’s representative in Brussels to state unequivocally what he got in return for Malta’s shameful vote. It is inconceivable that Malta’s representative voted against Malta’s best interest, GRTU said.