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May 1, 2001
ROCKEFELLER URGES SECRETARY MINETA TO PREVENT UNFAIR COMPETITION IN U.S. BY GERMAN POSTAL MONOPOLY
Senator Concerned about 1000 West Virginia UPS and Fed Ex Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Working to protect U.S. companies with major operations in West Virginia from unfair foreign competition, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta recommending that the U.S. Department of Transportation suspend the license of Deutsche Post to operate DHL Worldwide Express’s U.S. ground services.
Rockefeller’s action is a strong move to protect UPS and Federal Express and their over 1000 workers in West Virginia from being forced to compete with Deutsche Post, Germany’ s government-owned postal monopoly, and follows a recent European Commission ruling that said DP engages in unfair anti-competitive practices.
"Foreign investment in the United States is generally a good thing for the U.S. economy," Rockefeller wrote. "But the situation is different when the foreign company is a government-owned monopolist, and the situation is dramatically different when the company has been judged by its domestic competition authorities as being guilty of unfair competitive practices."
"A government-owned monopolist is not a fair competitor, and I do not believe allowing such a company to enter the U. S. market is fair to U. S. companies and their workers," he added.
In its ruling, the European Commission ordered DP to split up its parcel delivery and letter delivery businesses by next year. In his letter, Rockefeller proposed that the Department of Transportation wait until after this split occurs to decide whether DP should be allowed to enter the U.S. market through its majority interest in DHL.
"I believe the Department should revoke or temporarily suspend the license that was issued to Deutsche Post last fall without the appropriate solicitation of comments," Rockefeller wrote, adding, "When Deutsche Post’s break-up is complete, it may be appropriate to revisit this case, because the competitive implications of the company’s entry into the U.S. will have changed. However, until those structural remedies are implemented, Deutsche Post must be judged as it stands today."
Rockefeller pointed out that the law gives the U.S. government full discretion in issuing licenses to operate air freight forwarding businesses in the U.S. market. He warned that if the Department of Transportation fails to protect American companies from a foreign state-owned monopolist such as DP, "It could raise serious concerns about whether a new legislative framework for evaluating these licenses is warranted."
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