The new round of industrial base paper price rise is surging, which has a great psychological impact on the middle and downstream industries. Many people began to worry about the sudden rise in international pulp prices, which contributed to the domestic price rise.
However, a rare piece of good news finally arrived!
According to the EU news release, on October 12, the European Commission conducted a surprise inspection on major companies engaged in wood pulp production in Member States.
The Commission expressed concern that “the inspected companies may have violated EU antitrust rules, which prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices in accordance with Article 101 of the EU operational treaty.” Commission officials were accompanied by counterparts from the relevant national competition authorities.
In a press statement, Stora Enso said that the Finnish competition and consumer authority had visited its headquarters in kanavaranta, Finland, and included it in the scope of inspection. Stora Enso said he was fully cooperating with the authorities.
In a similar press statement, UPM also confirmed that the committee was inspecting its office space. The company said that at this stage, it had no information about the inspection results. UPM explained that it supported the Commission’s investigation, but could not comment further on the ongoing investigation.
Mets ä fiber said that the European Commission today began to inspect its companies according to EU antitrust rules as part of a larger investigation into the wood pulp industry market. The company said that according to the current information, MetS ä board was not investigated. Mets ä fiber explained that it would cooperate fully with the European Commission authorities.
The Commission stated that the surprise inspection was a preliminary action to investigate suspected violations of competition. The Commission’s conduct of such inspection did not mean that these companies had committed anti competitive acts, nor did it prejudge the results of the investigation. The Committee fully respects its right to defense in antitrust litigation, especially the right of the company to express its opinions.
There is no legal deadline for the completion of the investigation of anti competitive practices. The duration of the investigation depends on many factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the enterprise concerned cooperates with the Commission and the scope of the exercise of the right to defence.
The antitrust launched by the EU is an urgent act under the crisis of global inflation. The purpose is to stabilize rising prices and avoid the recurrence of the tragedy of uncontrolled rise of bulk commodities such as coal and natural gas.
Everyone who knows it knows that the EU’s antitrust investigation will never be a mere formality. Judging from the antitrust investigations launched by the European Union on apple, Google and Facebook in the past, the Committee has used thunder means. Therefore, the antitrust investigation launched by the European Commission against pulp will certainly deter pulp enterprises all over the world and suppress the trend of pulp price.
Post time: Oct-20-2021