Australia’s anti-trust watchdog said on Thursday it will not take any action against Fortescue Metals Group for comments by its chairman last month urging bigger rivals to join it in capping iron ore output to shore up prices.
Fortescue Chairman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest upset the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in March after he said at a dinner in Shanghai he was happy to challenge rivals to “cap our production right here and start acting like grown-ups”.
Forrest’s comments came as iron ore prices had sunk below $55 a tonne, heading toward decade lows amid a glut spawned by the big four producers, including Fortescue, just as demand growth in major customer China cooled.
Commission Chairman Rod Sims immediately launched an investigation and said on Thursday he accepted that the comments were “hypothetical” and meant to spark a policy debate about the long-term future of the iron ore industry.
“In deciding not to take further action on the comments that have been made, the ACCC has taken into account Fortescue’s position that Mr Forrest’s comments were made ‘off-the-cuff’ in response to audience questions,” Sims said in a statement.
Full content: Financial Review
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Uruguayan Antitrust Scrutiny Puts Major Meatpacking Deal Between Marfrig and Minerva on Hold
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Alaska Airlines Seeks Dismissal of Consumer Lawsuit Over $1.9 Billion Hawaiian Airlines Buy
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Idaho Attorney General Orders Split of Kootenai Health and Syringa Hospital
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Court Rejects T-Mobile’s Appeal Bid in Antitrust Case Over Sprint Merger
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Google Requests Judge, Not Jury, to Decide on Antitrust Case
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI