The Hindu Business Line : Shippers' Forum stand

The Global Shippers' Forum (GSF), earlier known as the Tripartite Shippers' Group, has supported the European Commission's stand against the proposal mooted by the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA) that the carriers be allowed to launch a system of information exchange. GSF maintains that the ELAA's revised proposal smacks of collusive activity, which is against the new competitive environment.

Any acceptance of the proposal, therefore, will be retrograde step in the removal of anti-competitive practices in the liner shipping market. Referring to the EU's anti-competition authorities' preparation for a repeal of block exemption on the liner conferences, GSF has stated that it would like to assist EU in its effort towards establishing "appropriate competition guidelines for the liner sector". GSF, it is learnt, is also opposed to the ELAA's proposals relating to the benchmarking of currency fluctuations, saying that carriers could use such information to collude on the level of surcharge each of them should implement.

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