New Zealand on the verge of banning rate-setting conferences

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New Zealand moved a step closer to banning freight rate discussions between container shipping lines serving its markets, after commerce minister Craig Foss announced that the government’s cabinet had decided to back his plans to reform the sector.

Reform of New Zealand’s Commerce Act, which would see the removal of liner shipping’s exemption from collective rate-setting legislation, has been on the cards since last year, when the country’s Productivity Commission published a report in which it recommended that: “New Zealand require shipping companies wishing ...