Global price increases and the impact of the new VBER

On 30 June 2022, we organised a seminar at our office in Amsterdam on how to deal with the (legal) impact of world-wide price increases, Covid-19 and the war in the Ukraine in commercial contracts. Further, we discussed the implications of the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER), which entered into force on 1 June 2022 and affects all parties in the supply chain. We provided practical tips & tricks on how to deal with these changes in commercial contracts and how to mitigate the competition law risks in respect thereof.

Speakers

Andrada Tiru (lawyer commercial contracts)

• How to deal with price increases under existing contracts?
• To what extent can Covid-19 and/or the war in Ukraine constitute force majeure / unforeseen circumstances under Dutch law?

Ekram Belhadj (lawyer competition law)

• What is the exact impact of the VBER, especially on MFN clauses, price arrangements, types of distribution, online sales and platforms
• What should companies arrange as a result of the VBER within the applicable transitional period of 1 year?

All parties in the supply chain are being more and more affected by significant global price increases as a consequence of high inflation, high metal prices, high production cost, increased transport costs and rising costs as a result of the current energy transition. Questions arise as to how to (legally) deal with these price increases, especially if contracts with (fixed) price agreements are already in place. Similar questions arise with respect to the consequences of COVID-19 (e.g. what is the impact on existing contracts and what should one pay attention to when entering into new contracts?) and the impact of the war in the Ukraine (e.g. how to deal with supply problems as a result of lost production capacity in the Ukraine and the cut-off of transport routes?).

Furthermore, on 1 June 2022, the new VBER and the accompanying Guidelines on vertical restraints (Guidelines) will enter into force. These instruments stipulate under which conditions agreements between business operating at different levels of the supply chain (vertical agreements) are exempted from the prohibition on anti-competitive agreements. The new rules apply inter alia to exclusive distribution, selective distribution, dual distribution, parity obligations (MFNs), resale price maintenance, exchange of information, online sales and online intermediation services (market places, platforms).