14 shipping firms file suit over EU anti-cartel ruling.BRUSSELS, Aug. 14 Kyodo Fourteen Asian shipping firms have filed a suit with the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice European Court of Justice, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Located in Luxembourg, it was founded in 1958 as the joint court for the three treaty organizations that were consolidated into the European Community (the predecessor of the EU) in 1967. asking it to annul an·nul tr.v. an·nulled, an·nul·ling, an·nuls 1. To make or declare void or invalid, as a marriage or a law; nullify. 2. a decision by the European Commission slapping the companies with millions of euros in fines for allegedly forming a cartel, industry sources said Monday. The commission, the executive body of the 15-member European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community (EU), announced in May it will fine 15 firms operating shipping lines between Europe and the Far East a total of 7 million euros ($6.3 million) for allegedly joining together to agree not to offer discounts to customers. One of the 15 is not involved in the suit. The companies -- from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong -- include Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (株式会社商船三井 Ltd. and Nippon Yusen K.K., three of Japan's biggest shipping firms. The 15 were members of the now-defunct Far East Trade Tariff Charges and Surcharges Agreement (FETTCSA), which acted between 1991 and 1994. In announcing the fines, the commission said its decision against ex-FETTCSA firms demonstrates its readiness to ''act firmly where...shipping lines conspire con·spire v. con·spired, con·spir·ing, con·spires v.intr. 1. To plan together secretly to commit an illegal or wrongful act or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action. 2. together as a cartel.'' The commission said it found the companies had discussed how to coordinate their commercial practices concerning charges, producing an agreement not to discount from their published charges. The agreement impinges EU rules calling for shipping firms to freely compete to set charges. The 14 plaintiffs told the court they never engaged in anticompetitive an·ti·com·pet·i·tive adj. That discourages competition among businesses: anticompetitive foreign trade restrictions. practices. The three Japanese firms were each fined 620,000 euros, while Malaysian International Shipping Corp. was fined 134,000 euros, Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines Neptune Orient Lines Limited SGX: N03, or NOL for short, is a Singapore-based global transport company with core businesses in container shipping and supply chain management. Ltd. 368,000 euros, and Hong Kong's Oriental Overseas Container Line Ltd. 134,000 euros. South Korea's Cho Yang Shipping Co. was also fined 134,000 euros, Hanjin Shipping Co. 620,000 euros, while Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp. and Yangming Marine Transport Corp. were each fined 368,000 euros. |
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