OECD members discuss maritime policy with China, others

OECD members discuss maritime policy with China, others    Officials of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development discussed maritime policy with government representatives of China, Singapore, Thailand and other countries that do not belong to the OECD during a workshop held in Paris on Nov. 4-5.
   The meeting, held at the OECD headquarters, was an exchange of views on maritime policy, safety and security, and was not expected to produce a final report, an official at the Paris-based economic think tank said.
   The OECD's Maritime Transport Committee has held similar programs with non-OECD countries in the past.
   The committee held a short meeting Nov. 4 morning to prepare the workshop with non-OECD members that followed on the same day.
   Declassified information on the Maritime Transport Committee meetings will be posted on the OECD Web site Nov. 22 at https://www.oecd.org/topic/0,2686,en_2649_34367_1_1_1_1_37433,00.html .
   The OECD has no involvement in liner shipping competition policy. However, both the European Commission and Australia’s Productivity Commission have cited the OECD’s influential 2002 report on competition in liner shipping in their recent reform proposals concerning antitrust immunity in shipping. Both the European Union and Australia are considering ending the automatic immunity of conferences and, in the case of Australia, discussion agreements, too.
   The OECD recommended at the time that all OECD member countries should consider removing antitrust exemptions for joint pricing and rate discussions.