Fourth Global Regulatory Summit Held at FMC

Senior government officials from the European Union (EU), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the United States met Wednesday at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to participate in the Fourth Global Regulatory Summit.

Attendees represent the competition authorities responsible for regulating international liner shipping in the world’s largest liner trade lanes. The delegations were led by Director Henrik Morch from the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission and Deputy Director-General YI Jiyong of the Water Transport Bureau, Ministry of Transportation, People’s Republic of China. Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Michael Khouri led the United States delegation. Commissioners Rebecca Dye, Daniel Maffei, and Louis Sola also participated in the summit.

Topics covered during the consultations included market conditions and industry trends; operational and business practices of carriers; and updates by each delegation on changes to regulations and laws governing shipping.

“I appreciate Director Morch and Deputy Director-General YI’s participation in our Regulatory Summit. We had successful discussions and valuable exchanges of views on issues that directly impact the international ocean container transportation industry. The Federal Maritime Commission is dedicated to ensuring competition and integrity for America’s Ocean Supply Chain. I believe that my counterparts from the European Union and the People’s Republic of China share the desire for a similar outcome for all countries and all global trade lanes. I look forward to the Global Regulatory Summit continuing its role as an effective way for the EU, PRC, and FMC to engage one another,” said Chairman Khouri.

“Today’s in-depth discussions were highly valuable to continue fostering cooperation between our authorities. The exchange of views also confirmed the usefulness of further work on issues of common interest,” stated Director Morch.

Deputy Director-General YI also expressed that the Summit is a useful forum to discuss common matters related to shipping and looks forward to the next meeting of the three governments.

The first Global Regulatory Summit was held in December 2013 and hosted by the Federal Maritime Commission. The second meeting was held in Belgium in 2015 and the third meeting was held in China in 2017. The parties announced their intention to hold the Fifth Global Regulatory Summit in Europe in 2021.

The delegates attending the Fourth Global Regulatory Summit were:

European Union

Henrik Morch, Director, Transport, Post, and Other Services, Directorate General for Competition, European Commission
Daniel Boeshertz, Antitrust, Transport, Post, and Other Services, Directorate General for Competition, European Commission
Gzim Ocakoglu, Administrator, Directorate General for Energy and Transport, European Commission

People’s Republic of China

YI Jiyong, Deputy Director-General of Water Transport Bureau, Ministry of Transport
ZENG Hui, Deputy Director-General of Maritime Safety Administration, Ministry of Transport
LI Huaye, Staff, International Shipping Division, Water Transport Bureau, Ministry of Transport
LI Qingxiang, Director of Waterway Transportation, Environmental Protection, and Energy Saving Monitoring Center of Waterborne Transport Research Institute, Ministry of Transport
Maoning, Division of Environment and Resources Research, Senior Engineer of Transport Planning and Research Institute, Ministry of Transport

United States of America

Michael Khouri, Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission
Rebecca Dye, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission
Daniel Maffei, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission
Louis Sola, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission
Tyler Wood, General Counsel, Federal Maritime Commission

Delegation Leaders (L-R) Henrik Morch (European Union), Michael Khouri (United States), and YI Jiyong (People’s Republic of China)