Canadian Foreign Policy and International Economic Regimes


Book Description

As the world economy is becoming increasingly global in nature, the future of Canada's welfare will directly depend on the country's response and reaction to a wide range of economic regimes which govern the international economy. This volume is an important and timely analysis of past and current Canadian policies toward both the formal and less formal arrangements which regulate such areas as international trade and financial transactions, international service industries, fisheries resources, and the environment. Often influenced by domestic political concerns and its relations with the United States, Canada has, as the authors point out, exhibited a high degree of variation in its responses to these regimes. Canadian Foreign Policy and International Economic Regimes addresses a broad range of foreign economic policies not generally considered in the foreign policy literature. Interdisciplinary in its approach, it will be of interest to those in political science and public policy, economics, and law, as well as to those involved in international business.




Shipping Conferences under EC Antitrust Law


Book Description

Liner conferences are among the oldest surviving cartels in the world. Created in the 1870s they have existed since on all the world's shipping routes. With the approval or tacit acquiescence of governments everywhere, they fix freight rates, control capacity and share markets. The United Nations Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences (1974) granted them global recognition and prompted the European Community to recommend Member States to join the Convention on the Liner Code (1979) and to grant them the most generous and extraordinary block exemption from EC antitrust rules ever (1986). The European Commission's administration of the block exemption has clarified some of its aspects and, to a certain extent, limited its scope; but until very recently, it has not questioned the appropriateness of the exceptionally lenient treatment of liner shipping cartels in the European Union. After a report by the OECD Secretariat (2002) recommending abolition of antitrust immunity for shipping cartels in member countries, the European Commission launched a review of the block exemption (2003) which has led to its repeal (2006). This book studies first the origins, the early history and the regulation of liner conferences in the world and in the European Community, focusing in particular on the Regulation which granted a block exemption to liner conferences. Then, it examines one by one the four conditions for a block exemption to be granted under EC law, and concludes that none of them is fulfilled by shipping cartels. Finally, it proposes some alternative scenarios and solutions for the adequate enforcement of antitrust law in the maritime sector once the block exemption has been repealed.




Governing Global Networks


Book Description

Governing Global Networks argues that most international regimes are grounded in states' mutual cooperation, and not in the dictates of the most powerful states. It focuses on the regimes for four important international industries - shipping, air transport, telecommunications and postal services. Of particular importance to these regimes have been states' interests in both the free flow of commerce and their policy autonomy. The authors examine the relationship between these potentially conflicting goals. In particular they trace the impact of deregulation, which has led some states increasingly to place gains from economic openness ahead of their desire to maintain a high degree of control of their own economies; and to the decline of the traditional cartel elements of these regimes. This analysis is an important contribution to theoretical debates between neo-realists and neo-liberals in the study of international organisations and international political economy.




Shipping Conferences


Book Description

As part of its contribution to the work of the Interdepartmental Committee on the Shipping Conferences Exemption Act, Consumer andCorporate Affairs Canada commissioned a survey of shippers aimedat learning the views of firms involved in overseas trade onmatters pertaining to the exemption of ocean liner conferencesfrom Canada's competition laws. Over three hundred large andsmall importers, exporters and freight forwarders across Canadaparticipated in the survey, which made use of both personalinterviews (a third of responses) and mail questionnaires.










Liner Shipping and EU Competition Law


Book Description

As of October 2008, liner shipping companies lose their privileged status under EU competition law due to withdrawal of the liner conference block exemption, which generously authorized horizontal price-fixing and similar agreements between liner shipping companies. Where the liner consortia block exemption does not apply, all cooperative activity should be carefully and individually assessed under the competition provisions of the EC Treaty. Alla Pozdnakova has taken this opportunity to research and write an in-depth study of competition law problems in the liner shipping context. Her analysis is not only the first to examine the new European regime, and thus the most up-to-date study of the subject; it is in fact the first major independent study of how Articles 81 and 82 EC are construed and applied to the market conduct of liner shipping companies. In particular, the author addresses the following legal questions: * Does cooperation between liner shipping companies infringe Article 81(1) even if it does not entail hard-core restrictions of competition? * Can a cooperative arrangement between liner shipping companies claim that the efficiencies they produce outweigh the negative impact on competition (Article 81(3))? * When do certain market strategies of liner carriers become an abuse of a collective or individual dominant position (Article 82)? * Does parallel pricing behaviour infringe EC Treaty competition rules? Systematically, the author considers various market strategies of liner shipping companies and tests them as to their compatibility with EC Treaty competition provisions. In doing so, she thoroughly analyses European Commission decisions and judgments of the European courts, applying them authoritatively to the liner shipping sector. In this way, her book provides a well-structured account that clearly identifies the legal issues that liner shipping companies are likely to face once the special treatment traditionally allowed them is withdrawn. A summary of current and prospective developments in EU competition regulation and policy in liner shipping rounds up the analysis. Liner Shipping and EU Competition Law will be a unique and powerful resource for practitioners and policymakers as liner shipping companies restructure their agreements and market strategies to accommodate loss of the block exemption. It is also sure to become a definitive analysis of the legal identity of the liner shipping market sector under European competition law.







The Unctad Liner Code


Book Description

The UNCTAD Liner Code: United States Maritime Policy at the Crossroads Lawrence Juda World shipping—vital to international trade—is now going through a period of radical change. The UNCTAD Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences is an important manifestation of that change, reflecting the pressures exerted by developing countries for a New International Economic Order and for modifications in the system of international trade. The code, best known for its provisions on liner cargo allocations, includes a number of other very significant stipulations important for U.S. policy. For several years the United States has opposed the convention and acted on the assumption that the EEC countries, Japan, and other developed states would not ratify it. Now that ratification appears imminent, the United States may find itself isolated and exposed to a number of problems whose impacts may be felt not only in maritime affairs but also in trade, diplomacy, and security. This study examines the nature, provisions, and possible effects of the UNCTAD Liner Code. Dr. Juda evaluates how the regime of the code compares with the present U.S. framework for liner regulations and promotion, then outlines and assesses the major policy options available to the United States given the positions taken by the developing states and the EEC. The book is based on interviews with key officials and on U.N. and U.S. government documents.




Liner Shipping Conferences


Book Description