The Council Working Party on Shipbuilding is the only international body that can influence and guide government policies by containing and, where possible, eliminate government aid, which can distort competition in the industry. .

The bringing about normal competitive conditions in the shipbuilding industry remains the WP's principal priority. It also encourages transparency, monitoring and peer review in order to discourage subsidies and other non-commercial practices. The WP is also a forum for information exchange, and is expanding its policy dialogue with non-OECD economies with substantial shipbuilding industries.

Participating countries are: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the Commission of the European Communities. Observers are: Croatia, Romania and the Russian Federation.

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