OECD calls for container shipping alliances to lose competition law exemptions

A new report from the International Transport Forum (ITF), part of the OECD, claims that liner shipping does not have unique characteristics that justify exemptions from competition law, either for conferences or for alliances.

The study, named ‘The Impact of Alliances in Container Shipping’ said that generic antitrust rules should apply to all agreements between liner shipping companies and that countries where “conferences” are still allowed should reconsider their position.

Olaf Merk, Lucie Kirstein and Filip Salamitov, who wrote the report, want the European Commission to consider allowing the EU Consortia Block Exemption Regulation to expire in April 2020, as currently scheduled, rather
than extending it.