07 July 2013

The NFDA has used an EC green paper to support a call for European regulations to outlaw unfair trading practices by manufacturers on their franchised retailers.

The EC originally started looking at unfair trading practices in the food and grocery sector in 2012, but after 34% of the 746 responses were from retailers in the automotive sector, it is now looking at all market areas.

The NFDA’s submission to the unfair trading practices green paper follows the recent dilution of Block Exemption Regulation by the EC.

While BER was reviewed and run by the competition department within the EC, unfair trading practices are being looked at by a different department, the Directorate General Internal Market and Services. In essence this means that the NFDA has a second chance to pressure manufacturers into being fair when applying franchise agreements with retailers.

The NFDA believes a homogenous pan-European solution would help with UTP regulations reducing the likelihood of unfair practices arising in the first place. The organisation adds that with serious or persistent cases, enforcement bodies should be granted investigative powers, be able to accept anonymous complaints and impose sanctions.

Commenting on the submission to Auto Retail Agenda, NFDA director Sue Robinson said: “The NFDA is lobbying for a fairer deal and a more balanced working relationship for dealers with their manufacturers and a true partnership.”

Read the full UTP submission story in next week’s Auto Retail Bulletin. If you’re not a subscriber you can sign-up for a free trial here.

Tags: EC, NFDA, Sue Robinson, unfair trading, unfair trading practices, UTP