What is maritime transport?
Maritime transport is difficult to negotiate for two reasons. It involves several different kinds of services, from shipping to port facilities. And each of these services is organised in complex ways. Some (including bulk shipping) are relatively competitive, others (such as much of liner shipping) are dominated by rate-setting conferences, bilateral arrangements or monopolies. Some are operated by state enterprises. Some are highly protected with strong domestic political lobbies and long-established labour union practices. Finding appropriate formulas for negotiated liberalisation in these circumstances is not easy. The negotiations have dealt with the so-called three pillars of the maritime transport sector: * International shipping: transporting passengers or freight between ports in different countries. * Auxiliary services such as cargo-handling, storage and warehousing, stevedoring, freight forwarding, customs clearance services, container-station and depot services. Negotiatio
