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Container Shippers Call For EU Competition Authorities To Act

By  |  January 6, 2021

In a joint letter to the Competition Directorate of the European Commission, the European Freight Forwarders Association (CLECAT) and the European Shippers’ Council (ESC) have informed the Commission of issues arising from carriers’ ongoing practices. These relate to the violation of existing contracts, the establishment of unreasonable conditions concerning the acceptance of bookings, and unilaterally setting of rates far in excess of those agreed in contracts.

This situation is particularly affecting small European businesses with limited financial reserves, reported Shipping Insight.

Last year, shippers, forwarders, terminal operators, and others in the maritime supply chain expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision of the European Commission to once again extend the block exemption regulation for liner shipping, which it considered a one-sided exercise to the benefit of the carriers.

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