Assimilated Liner Shipping Consortia Block Exemption provisional decision

On 19 January 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a document seeking views on a proposal to recommend to the then Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy that she replace the retained Liner Shipping Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (the ‘Retained CBER’) when it expires on 25 April 2024 with a Liner Shipping Consortia Block Exemption Order (CBEO), (at the time of this consultation, the Retained CBER was a type of ‘retained EU law’.  Under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, what was previously ‘retained EU law’ became ‘assimilated law’ on 1 January 2024).

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.

This document invites feedback on the CMA’s provisional decision before it reaches a final decision.

Further information can be found on the Liner Shipping Consortia Block Exemption Regulation page.

In accordance with our policy of openness and transparency, we will publish non-confidential versions of responses on our webpages. If your response contains any information that you regard as sensitive and that you would not wish to be published, please provide at the same time a non-confidential version for publication on our webpages which omits that material and which explains why you regard it as sensitive. When submitting your response please also let us know if you wish to remain anonymous.

The responses to this consultation will be shared with the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) in order to facilitate consideration of the CMA’s final recommendation. In addition, responses will be used to inform the preparation by DBT of impact assessments for any decision that the Secretary of State may take.

When handling personal data (like your contact details), we comply with data protection law, as set out in the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 and other law designed to protect sensitive information.

For more information about the CMA’s statutory functions, how the CMA processes personal data and your rights relating to that personal data (including your right to complain), please read the CMA’s Personal Information Charter.