Last week the FMC rejected a Tripartite Agreement filed by the three Japanese lines as it ultimately established a merged, new business entity. However, it clarified it did not make any judgment on compliance with anti-trust laws that come under other US government agencies.
FMC acting chairman Michael Khouri said in a statement on Friday: "The Commission made only one finding – that the Tripartite Agreement falls outside the jurisdiction of the Shipping Act of 1984. The Commission made no determination of any kind regarding the agreement parties’ commercial activities regarding their compliance with the general antitrust laws that are administered by other federal agencies.
"The Shipping Act expressly excludes acquisition agreements from the Act’s coverage,” he added.
“This proposed agreement is not the type of arrangement in which the parties would surrender control over a particular matter for the duration of the agreement but maintain their separate identity and original independence in the same line of business in all other respects. Thus, the Commission has determined that the creation of the joint venture, including the pre-consolidation cooperation intended to facilitate and permit its creation, falls outside the Commission’s jurisdiction."
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