Without making the noise of agriculture, the footwear industry is also not happy with Europe. The Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE), chaired by Alicante industrialist Rosana Perán, warns that the new regulation being processed by the European Union against late payment will make things even more difficult for footwear companies. Industries that, they say, have already been suffering since 2022 the consequences of the state Create and Grow Law, which forces companies that want to access public subsidies to comply with the deadlines of the Delinquency Law, which establishes the maximum term at 30 days. of payments.
It is the same regulation that the ceramic sector has been protesting against for months because it understands this as a "condition that is difficult to achieve" in export sectors like its own, or like footwear, in which three out of every four euros comes from abroad with clients who have no payment obligation within less than 60 days.
FICE denounces that the new European regulation puts the viability of shoe companies in "serious danger." Especially for the smaller ones, which they point out are already in a "delicate" financial situation due to the decrease in demand due to the fall in consumption and the increase in labor costs. "The proposed 30-day deadline will be difficult to meet for these companies, which may not have the necessary liquidity to guarantee quick payments without putting their economic viability at risk," explains the industry.
That is why they ask for flexibility and for the regulation to adapt to the context of each company in a sector that in the Valencian Community currently represents 9% of the industry and generates almost 6% of industrial employment. According to figures from the Generalitat Valenciana, Valencian companies make up 56% of all footwear firms in Spain with the main production centers located in Elx, Elda and Villena in Alicante, and the Vall d'Uixó in Castellón.
The Minister of Innovation and Industry, Nuria Montes, met with the sector a few days ago regarding the sustainability policy of the Valencian footwear cluster. His department asks the Government to rethink the regulations, and to make the "appropriate modifications" so that the money reaches companies, and remembers that it is a regulation that not only affects footwear, but that there are more industries affected by this situation. .
However, the response must come from the Government. At a national level, the Federation is working along these lines, and is currently waiting for various meetings to make these modifications, as they fear they will even be left out of the PERTE of the Circular Economy due to these requirements. "It is absurd that our companies, of an export nature, and with a low-turnover product such as footwear, have to adhere to the 30 days established by the law of the Government of Spain. It is impossible, and if they do not achieve it, they are outside the European aid," indicates the general secretary of FICE, Marián Cano.
