Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) emphasises that the importance of antitrust immunity for carrier agreements remains unchanged for the purpose of enhancing the economic efficiency of liner services with a wider range of services and port calls at a higher frequency without legal uncertainty.
ASA’s announcement comes after the European Commission’s decision not to extend the EU legal framework which exempts liner shipping consortia from EU antitrust rules (Consortia Block Exemption Regulation CBER). The Commission has concluded that the CBER no longer promotes competition in the shipping sector and therefore it will let it expire on 25 April 2024.
ASA had submitted to the European Commission in October 2022, in collaboration with ICS and WSC, their solid position that the CBER is an important regulatory tool that yields significant benefits to a variety of stakeholders, with no downside from a competition or consumer welfare perspective, recommending that it be extended for another term without amendment.
Following the European Commission’s repeal of the CBER, Mr Yuichi Sonoda, the Secretary General of ASA, commented that “the European Commission recognises the value of liner shipping consortia and vessel sharing agreements and has now chosen to ensure the legal certainty of those carrier agreements under the general EU antitrust rules. At the same time, ASA continues to voice the importance of antitrust immunity in jurisdictions worldwide to ensure efficient and sustainable maritime transport for the global economy.”
