Dialogue or complaint
ESC and Clecat, European associations grouping shippers and forwarders, recently criticised policies being pursued by shipping lines in a joint open letter addressed to the European Commission (see ITJ Daily of 6 January 2021).
The bodies have now followed up the letter sent to the directorate general for competition, and reiterated their key points in an online discussion with the directorate.
Its representatives said they are aware of the market situation, adding that price hikes are mainly due to demand fluctuations arising from government measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.
They don’t believe the hikes justify starting an investigation. They can only examine the situation when the formal review of the Consortia BER is relaunched, or if there is a legal complaint. The DG nevertheless acknowledged that the situation calls for a global overview and for renewed discussions with maritime competition authorities worldwide.
The EU Commission also suggested dialogue between market participants to find a common approach to problems. ESC and Clecat are now considering whether there is a case to file an official complaint to the Commission. (cd)
www.europeanshippers.eu
www.clecat.org
https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/competition