EC welcomes Council agreement to end exemption for liner shipping conferences by beginning of 2008

On Monday, the European Commission has welcomed the unanimous adoption of the Commission’s proposal to repeal the exemption from the EC Treaty’s ban on restrictive business practices for liner conferences on routes to and from the EU. The current block exemption, established by Council Regulation allows carriers to fix prices and regulate capacity jointly. The repeal will enter into effect in October 2008.

Liner shipping (i.e. the provision of regular, scheduled maritime freight transport, chiefly by container) has been organized in the form of cartels – called liner conferences - since the 1870s.

The abolition of the exemption for liner conferences will affect EU and non-EU carriers operating on routes both to and from Europe. The market distorting effects of price fixing will be corrected, and lower prices for sea containers are likely to result.

In the liner shipping sector, as in others sectors, competition rules are not applied in the same way worldwide. Noting that liner conferences will continue to be tolerated in other jurisdictions, the Commission will take appropriate initiatives to advance the removal of price fixing liner conferences and thus promote further competitive reform of the liner shipping sector.
 

News