Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Jun 18, 2012 10:35AM EDT
The International Chamber of Shipping urged Chile to continue to allow ocean carriers to cooperate in rate-setting conferences and consortia.
The shipowner group, which represents more than 80 percent of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage, filed comments in response to Chile’s proposal to revise its antitrust laws.
Antitrust immunity “yields net benefits to shippers, exporters and consumers in Chile, as well as to the economy of Chile as a whole,” ICS said.
“Any major changes that might be proposed to the current maritime competition regime in Chile could have implications for the liner (container) shipping industry globally, not just for those companies involved in trades to and from Chile,” ICS said.
The shipowner group said ending antitrust immunity for liner operators would put Chile in conflict with major trading partners, including the U.S., that provide carriers with limited antitrust immunity. The European Union’s 2008 end of carriers’ exemption from EU competitions rules is “regarded by the industry as a retrograde anomaly,” ICS said.
Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.
