The current world economic situation is characterized by structural disequilibria whereby the increasing distortion and structural rigidity of the international division of labour have a cause and effect relationship with intensified protectionism. The shipping industry has not been insulated from this crisis, and itself continues to operate under various types of restrictive and distorting business practices.
In 2002, the EU announce that its negotiations with Korea to find an amicable solution to the long-standing Korean unfair shipbuilding practices had failed. The EU would trigger the twin-track strategy: launch a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel and authorise a temporary defensive mechanism (TDM), that is to say a temporary and limited state aid for EU shipbuilders.