Competition Law and the International Transport Sectors

• Main Author: PHANG, Sock Yong
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2009
• Subjects: Law and Economics; Public Economics; Transportation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/537; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soe_research/article/1536/viewcontent/Vol5Iss2Art3Phang.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This article charts the evolving regulation of cooperation and coordination between international transport firms, in particular those operating within the liner shipping and international air transport sectors. There has been a long history of exemption of these sectors from the rules and regulations of antitrust or competition law. In the past three decades, regulatory reforms and privatization have, however, subjected these sectors to competitive forces that have transformed these industries. With the introduction of competition law in many jurisdictions, the justifications for their continued exemption have come under intense scrutiny. In the late 19705, the US initiated deregulation of its domestic airline sector and introduced reforms in the regulation of liner shipping which resulted in greater competition and lower prices. In 2006, the EU adopted a tougher stance by becoming the first jurisdiction to remove exemption for IATA passenger tariff conferences from 2007 and for liner shipping conferences from 2008. While arguments for the benefits of competition can be generally made, the lack of harmonization of competition laws together with the international nature of these sectors (which are further complicated by high concentration, network characteristics, and government sanctioned barriers to entry) continue to present challenges for competition authorities.