Shipper representatives who met with the European Commission (EC) last week have said that the shipping lines are “holding world trade hostage” as the commission says it is not bothered by inflated rates.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]In an increasingly acrimonious debate, the European Shippers Council (ESC) and forwarder representatives from the European Freight Forwarders Association (CLECAT) met with the EC to discuss complaints outlined by the shippers in a letter to the EC on 4 January.
In the follow-up meeting to the letter of complaint, the EC told CLECAT and ESC that it was fully aware of the present market situation, including recent substantial price increases, but said, these “Were mainly due to the wane and surge on the demand side as a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis,” and that the “Price hikes as such are not seen as a justification to start an investigation.”
Nevertheless, Nicolette van der Jagt, the CLECAT director general, said that following the EC’s decision to extend the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation in the spring her expectations of support from the EC were not high and that if shippers wanted the commission to take a more detailed look at the market a legal complaint needed to be made.
In a defiant mood, however, van der Jagt told Container News, “Liner shipping is keeping world trade hostage rather than facilitating it and at the same time these carriers are the same people who want to handle the full supply chain.”
She went on to say, “In any case, we are preparing views for the longer term as we have said many times; the current legal framework for the liner shipping industry is no longer fit for purpose.”
Even though the EC response to shipper complaints was muted, the shippers were encouraged to hear that DG Competition saw the plight of trade as a “global situation that needed a global overview.”
For this reason, the EC said a renewal of the discussions with the maritime competition authorities in other parts of the world including the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and China’s Ministry of Commerce. The last trialogue with the FMC and China Ministry of Commerce took place in 2019.
In this context, ESC highlighted the responsibility that carriers have given their protection from competition regulations. “This protection [the CBER] has been granted to carriers globally: the alliances of carriers are now the ‘gatekeepers for international trade’ as they play a crucial role in the competitiveness of many businesses. They should not abuse of these privileges as it seems to be the case today.”
In a joint statement, the ESC and CLECAT said the EC had suggested it would “Establish a dialogue between all the market participants in view of finding a common approach to the current market problems and setting up an action plan regarding the overall ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, the shippers’ associations are considering whether to make a legal complaint to the EC in order to promote the commission to investigate what shippers consider are anti-competitive practices.
Nick Savvides
Managing Editor[/s2If]
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