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A
recommendation by the OECD to end
antitrust exemptions for joint
pricing by container lines looks set
to stay.
Carriers
who attended an industry workshop in
Paris recently raised objections to
some of the conclusions of the draft
report but have probably not won any
major concessions, despite
expressing disappointment about the
central proposals.
OECD
governments met with representatives
of both shippers and carriers to
discuss ways of introducing some
additional elements of market
competition in an industry that
benefits from anti-trust
exemptions.
An
OECD report presented to the
Workshop supports the widespread use
of individual confidential contracts
instead of fixed prices.
“This
could help governments resolve
differences that currently exist
between liner carriers and their
customers, " OECD said in a
statement after the meeting.
Anti-trust
exemptions for price fixing, rate
discussion and capacity agreements
between liner shipping competitors
were discussed at an OECD Workshop
which considered a report that
should help governments in making
future decisions about these
issues.
In
particular, the workshop focused on
points of convergence in a polarised
debate between shippers and
carriers.
The
analysis and proposals for reform
are contained in a draft report
presented to the workshop that
brought together government
delegations from both transport and
competition ministries and industry
representatives from both carriers
and shippers.
A
final report on Competition Policy
in Liner Shipping will be released
in 2002.
The
OECD analysis focused on the impacts
on both carriers and shippers of
common pricing and stabilisation
agreements under anti-trust
exemptions, and the possible effects
stemming from the removal of those
anti-trust exemptions for liner
shipping.
The
analysis was based on an
investigation of market share,
freight rates, financial performance
and regulatory trends and examines
different models of liner shipping
markets.
This
review found no clear evidence that
fixing prices offers more benefits
than costs to shippers and
recommends that anti-trust
exemptions not be allowed to cover
price-fixing and rate discussions.
It
also found that capacity agreements
should be carefully scrutinised to
ensure that they do not distort the
markets in which they are present.
Shippers
and Competition authorities welcomed
the workshop as an important
contribution to reduce disagreement
on liner shipping anti-trust
exemptions.
However,
carriers and some other participants
expressed disappointment with the
report's strong stance against the
continuation of anti-trust
exemptions for rate discussions
among carriers.
Recognising
the difference of opinions amongst
regulators, carriers and shippers,
the report also offered a compromise
based on three principles:
1.
Freedom to negotiate on an
individual and confidential basis;
2. Freedom to protect key terms of
shipping contracts, including
information regarding negotiated
rates;
3. Freedom of carriers to
co-ordinate operations as long as
they do
not confer undue market power to
carriers.
The
OECD report will provide
governments, carriers and shippers
with a basis for re-evaluation of
their respective positions.
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