THE SHIPPING CONFERENCES EXEMPTION ACT: A STEP TOWARDS THE US REFORMS - BUT ARE WE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

摘要

The exemption of shipping conferences from the competition laws or antitrust laws has been the most controversial issue in ocean liner shipping since the 1990s. Despite amendments to conference laws in several jurisdictions, many critics continue to maintain mat it is an archaic piece of legislation that is increasingly out of cinque with current developments in deregulation and free trade. The most recent attacks against the conference system are based on findings by a group of World Bank economists who have drawn attention to the costs of the conference system, claims by shippers' groups who are frustrated that the conference system does not benefit shippers, and litigation by the European Commission against anti-competitive behaviour by conferences. Nevertheless, the supporters of the conference system argue that time is needed to learn if the current reforms will work. Regardless of these views, as often occurs in controversial issues mat cannot be resolved, the changing market structure and environment will ultimately determine if this exemption is relevant any longer for international liner trade. Part Ⅰ of this paper will examine, the Shipping Conference Exemption Act, 1987 (SCEA), factors leading to the amendments, the recent amendments to SCEA introduced in Bill C-14 and its implications. In Part Ⅱ, the major reforms of the US Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 will be examined together with its impact. In addition, the major US and Canadian reforms will be compared. In Part Ⅲ, we shall briefly review if we are moving in the right direction. Finally, a few concluding remarks will be made.