News & positions

Proposed UTP Enforcement Regulation: A Significant Step Towards Fairness in Consumer Goods Supply Chains

Brussels, 11 December 2024 – AIM, the European Brands Association, welcomes the European Commission’s proposed Regulation unveiled yesterday to enhance cross-border enforcement against unfair trading practices (UTPs) within the EU (the proposed ‘UTP Enforcement Regulation’). This initiative marks a significant step towards ensuring greater fairness and transparency within the consumer goods supply chain.

AIM has called for many years for Fairness for All, as strong and effective measures to combat unfair trading practices benefit all. The Unfair Trading Practices Directive proposed in 2018 was a pioneering approach of the European Commission, recognizing the absolute necessity of a fair and resilient supply chain.

“A fair trading environment in Europe benefits everyone, whether farmers, SMEs, manufacturers, retailers or consumers”, commented Michelle Gibbons, Director General of AIM. “The supply chain is interdependent – we need suppliers of ingredients to ensure continuity of production to deliver for consumers, and likewise our suppliers depend on us, so they have long-term and stable partnerships for their output”.

This stability has been shaken in recent years with the supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions that have impacted production of consumer goods in Europe, as shown by our recent European Consumer Goods Barometer.

With competitiveness at the forefront of the new EU mandate, now is the time to reinforce existing laws and ensure they are properly enforced. The new Regulation will close enforcement gaps, introduce clear procedural rules and a mutual assistance mechanism, empowering enforcement authorities to collaborate effectively across borders. This will help to address practices such as forum shopping, where some operators, particularly retail alliances, have located in certain jurisdictions to avoid the application of UTP laws. Whilst authorities have been active, as can be seen from this list of cases over the past several years, this regulation should enable more collaboration across borders and therefore, foster a level playing field for all operators in the European supply chain.

For further information, please contact: Donata Cagnato Tel: +32 2 736 03 05 Email: donata.cagnato@aim.be

About AIM: AIM (Association des Industries de Marque) is the European Brands Association, representing manufacturers of branded consumer goods in Europe on key issues that affect their ability to design, distribute, and market their brands. AIM’s membership comprises 2,500 businesses ranging from SMEs to multinationals, directly or indirectly through its corporate and national association members.