Danish government asks Maersk to lower shipping costs. Maersk: No!

Against the background of unprecedented severe inflation situation in Europe, some European countries began to put political pressure on their liner companies, hoping that these companies could help the government and jointly shoulder the responsibility of fighting inflation.

CMA and Maersk are the representatives of the liner companies affected.

The move came shortly after CMA , under pressure from the French government, reduced freight rates for French importers and exporters.
As of August 1, freight rates for all container goods imported by French companies from Asia will be reduced by €750 /FEU. A reduction of €750 /FEU for all goods destined for French overseas territories; For all exports of French enterprises, the freight is reduced by 100 euros /FEU.
The move is aimed at reducing the cost of imports and exports for French companies and will last for a year.
Maersk followed CMA in coming under political pressure from the Danish government to "follow the example of CMA and offer freight discounts to domestic importers and exporters to support their development".

Maersk, however, rejected the Danish government's request.
Maersk responded explicitly: "We believe in an open market economy. We believe that all customers are important, no matter what industry they are in or what country they come from. Therefore, we are not considering shipping discounts to customers in fixed locations depending on where the headquarters are located."

Cma's concession contrasts with Maersk's hardline stance, although some in the industry say the price cut is a "pre-emptive" move to reduce the likelihood of a "windfall profits tax" imposed by the French government.
The situation facing CMA and Maersk is a microcosm of Europe's massive inflation.
Figures showed inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro surged to 8.6 per cent in June, the highest since records began in 1997.
Inflation in the euro zone rose 0.6 percentage points in June from May, according to data released on July 1 by Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency. Overall, higher energy prices are the biggest cause of record inflation.
France's inflation rate has continued to rise this year, rising from 5.8 percent in June to 6.1 percent in July, the highest level since July 1985, according to preliminary data released by the National Institute for Statistics and Economics (Insee).
Separately, the annual inflation rate in Denmark rose to 7.4 percent in May, the highest since May 1983, from 6.7 percent a month earlier, according to Statistics Denmark.
A "windfall profits tax" is a tax on excessive profits made by an industry, usually to meet fiscal needs at the national level.

Source:https://www.sofreight.com/