EU Repeal of the Liner Conference Block Exemption

Council Regulation (EC) No 1419/2006 of September 25, 2006 repealed Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86, which since 1987 had exempted liner conferences from EU competition rules. After a two-year transition ending October 18, 2008, carriers on EU trades could no longer jointly set rates or capacity, and their cooperation had to comply with Article 101 TFEU. Operational consortia kept a separate block exemption until it expired on April 25, 2024. Fines for competition law violations can reach 10 percent of global turnover.

The repeal ended collective rate setting on Europe trades, so ocean rates to and from Europe are set by individual carriers and contracts. Importers gained negotiating room, though carrier consolidation and alliances partly took the place of conferences. For example, a European e-commerce importer buying Asia to Rotterdam freight now negotiates with carriers or forwarders individually rather than facing a published conference tariff. With the consortia exemption also gone since 2024, alliances on EU trades must assess their own compliance with competition law.

• Contract RateFreight price locked in for a set term

• EU Consortia Block Exemption Expiry2024 · EU ends a competition law exemption for carriers
• Ocean Carrier Alliance Realignment2017 · Three alliances come to dominate east-west trades
• Gemini Cooperation2025 · Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd launch a hub-and-spoke network

• Shipping Act of 19841984, amended 1998 and 2022 · US law regulating ocean carriers and NVOCCs
• Treaty of Rome1957, in force 1958 · 1957 treaty founding the EEC and its customs union
• Shipping Act of 19161916 · Created the US Shipping Board and regulated carriers

1. Council Regulation (EC) No 1419/2006, EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu