The European Commission is likely to propose a 15-month extension of controversial duties on shoes made in China and Vietnam, European Union diplomats said, despite broad opposition from major shoe corporations and many European governments.

The commission, the E.U.'s executive arm, is expected to argue that Chinese and Vietnamese shoe companies are clearly shipping their products to the E.U. at artificially low prices - especially compared with the price of shoes made in other developing countries such as India, Brazil and Indonesia.

The commission is also seen arguing that the duties, which are 16.5% on Chinese and 10% on Vietnamese shoes, have cost European consumers only EUR1.50 per pair of shoes.

Global corporations such as Adidas (ADS.XE) and one of Adidas' main suppliers, the giant Hong Kong-based shoe manufacturer Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings LTD. (0551.HK), have fought hard to end the duties, which were put in place in October 2006 and set to expire last year. But European shoemakers in June 2008 asked the commission to extend the duties, and the commission agreed to examine the issue.

The commission's proposal has been circulated to other parts of the commission and will be distributed to the shoemakers and the large shoe importers Friday, E.U. officials said.

It will be discussed at a meeting of E.U. trade experts in November and must be approved by the European Council. If the duties are cleared they will come into force at the beginning of January 2010.

It's unclear whether the council will approve an extension of the duties. European shoemakers tend to be small and medium-sized businesses, concentrated in Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Poland. Those governments and a few others will support extending the duties, but many other E.U. countries oppose them.

The duties apply to leather footwear, which excludes most sneakers.

Chinese and Vietnamese exporters over the last decade have chipped away at the E.U. market share of European shoemakers, which has decreased from around 60% in 2001 to 40-45% currently. Supporters of the duties say they have prevented even more market share losses by European shoemakers.

The case has been a top priority for the Chinese government, with millions of people in China employed in the footwear industry. About 250,000 Europeans work in the European leather goods industry, most of whom are employed making shoes.

-By Matthew Dalton, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 1487; matthew.dalton@dowjones.com