Europe is poised to extend anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese footwear after Germany, Austria and Malta changed their positions in the keenly watched trade dispute.

The three member states, which voted last month to reject a European Commission proposal to extend the duties for 15 months from early January, told a working committee yesterday that they would abstain.

Under European Union rules, their abstentions will be counted in favour of the proposal, giving the Commission a narrow majority to extend a policy that has proved divisive among member states and threatened to strain trade relations with China.

The vote will take place on December 17 but diplomats involved in the case said the matter had in effect been decided. “Nothing will change,” one said.

The European Footwear Alliance, which represents large retailers such as Adidas and Clark's and some smaller manufacturers, condemned the move, which it said could prompt retaliatory action from China.

“This sudden U-turn is a catastrophe for all those who care about European business, European consumers and, more broadly, about Europe's place in the world,” said Manfred Junkert, director of the Federation of the German Footwear Industry.

A Berlin official acknowledged the country's shift in position but did not explain what had motivated it. Germany was seeking “credible” guarantees to ensure the duties would not be extended again.

Opponents of the duties, which include the UK and Nordic states, have argued that such guarantees are impossible under trade law.

The footwear dispute has come to be seen as a litmus test for Europe's commitment to free trade in the midst of an economic crisis.

The duties – 16.5 per cent for Chinese footwear and 10 per cent for Vietnamese – were imposed in 2006 amid a surge in low-cost imports. Under a political agreement the duties were assessed for a two-year period and not the normal five. Brussels was forced to review an ext­en­sion following a request from manufacturers in Italy and Spain.