The CMA has decided not to recommend the renewal of the Liner Shipping Consortia Block Exemption Regulation (CBER), which provides an exemption from competition law for certain forms of cooperation between liner shipping companies. The decision follows feedback from shipping companies, their customers, and trade bodies. The CMA found that while cooperation between shipping companies through consortia can bring benefits, it can also reduce competition and weaken incentives to keep charges competitive and improve service standards. The CMA has taken into account the fact that many liner shipping companies already have to self-assess their consortia due to their combined market share exceeding the thresholds allowed under the block exemption. Additionally, liner shipping services to the UK currently call at ports in the EU, which means that liners operating these services will also need to consider compliance with EU competition law. The affected industry is the shipping industry, and the legal areas concerned are competition law and block exemptions. The main legal issue involved is the balance between the benefits of cooperation between shipping companies and the potential reduction in competition.