Newsletters

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued on 17 November a provisional decision not to recommend replacement of the Liner Shipping Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (the 'Retained CBER') with a new UK block exemption order.

This decision follows a consultation launched in January 2023 about the possibility to replace the retained EU Consortia Block Exemption Regulation with a Liner Shipping Consortia Block Exemption Order (CBEO), which would be broadly similar to the current regime. Following this consultation, and in light of further assessment conducted by the CMA, the CMA no longer proposes to recommend replacement of the retained CBER. The CMA’s provisional view is that that the retained CBER should lapse on its expiry date of 25 April 2024, without replacement.

CLECAT welcomes the CMA’s provisional decision, which aligns with the European Commission’s decision to let the CBER expire after April 2024. We have already shared our concerns with the CMA if a CBER-like regime was maintained in the UK, considering that the benefits of the exemptions from general competition law enjoyed by the shipping lines are not being shared fairly between the lines and the rest of the economy and that the CBER is an outdated measure that provides too much interpretative scope for carriers. CLECAT therefore encourages the development of specific guidelines for this sector to ensure that the competition law framework for vessel sharing agreements is transparent, enforceable, and open to scrutiny at times of market stress.

The provisional decision is open for consultation. Responses should be submitted by email by 5:00 p.m. (UK time) and should be sent to: cberreview@cma.gov.uk.

Source: UK Government