The Asian Shippers' Council (ASC) has added its voice in support to a proposal to ban shipping line conferences serving the US, in an effort to persuade Asian governments to follow suit.
    The ASC said the US Shipping Act 2010, if passed, would outlaw rate discussion agreements and act as a catalyst for change elsewhere.
    "News of Congressman James Oberstar's proposed legislation to end the cartels is music to our ears. For years we have asked our governments to put the necessary mechanism in place to rein in the cartels, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears," said ASC chairman John Lu.
    Mr Lu said that despite the European Union outlawing shipping conferences and rate agreements in 2008, reported London's International Freighting Weekly. "Singapore took the position that conferences were still permitted in large swathes of the world, hence its decision not to review the exemption accorded to liner shipping agreements in the Singapore Competition Act."
    But "the Competition Commission of Singapore could not so easily dismiss the issue if the US were to join the EU in banning cartels."
    The ASC expects shipping lines to resist the move in Asia and have already been "consolidating their presence in Asia and rallying the support of governments." 
    This comes after the 29 shipping line members of the World Shipping Council demanded Congress "fully consider the affects of eliminating this authority."

Source: Shipping Gazette