EC delivers post conference draft guidelines, carrier victory?

EC delivers post conference draft guidelines, carrier victory? Shipping lines could still be allowed to exchange information on things like volume, capacity and pricing in some format when liner conferences are abolished in Europe next year, judging by the European Commission’s draft guidelines on maritime competition law, published Friday.
   EC Regulation 4056/86, which allows conferences a block exemption to set common freight rates and cooperate on capacity, will be repealed on Oct. 18, 2008, but the shipping industry has lobbied hard for an alternative model that will permit some level of cooperation, which it argues is vital to ensure stable rates and reliable services.
   How close the new system will be to the information exchange model proposed by the European Liner Affairs Association, which represents the leading lines in Brussels, will be made clearer after an eight-week consultation period, but it seems in principle the idea has not been outlawed.
   One extract from the 15-page document: “The more the information is shared with customers, the less likely it is to be problematic. If market transparency is improved for the benefit of suppliers only, it may deprive customers of the possibility of getting the advantage of increased ‘hidden competition.’ An exchange between suppliers only may also constitute a barrier to entry.”
   The full EC document is available at https://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/legislation/maritime/draft_guidelines_en.pdf.
   “We have not yet had time for a detailed analysis but my initial take on the document is that DG Comp (Competition Directorate-General) has understood our proposals and that these draft guidelines reflect the needs of the modern liner industry,” said Chris Bourne, executive director of the ELAA, in a statement.
   The ELAA’s information exchange proposal is available at: www.elaa.net/documents/RevisedELAAProposal.pdf.
   No one from the European Shippers’ Council could be reached for comment at the time of writing.
   The EC is asking all interested parties to send their comments on the draft Guidelines by e-mail to: COMP-MARITIME-GUIDELINES@ec.europa.eu, or in writing to: European Commission, Competition Directorate-General, Unit F1 – Antitrust – Transport and Post, Maritime Guidelines, B-1049 Brussels.