§ 22. Mr. Swinglerasked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent he has consulted with Commonwealth and foreign Governments on the subject of merchandise marks since he took office; and whether he will now initiate such discussions for the purpose of preventing the circulation of counterfeit goods.
§ Mr. H. StraussTwo international agreements governing this matter are already in force and the need has been not for general discussion but for taking up individual cases of complaint. Since 1952 the Board of Trade have taken up about 330 such cases in 50 different countries.
§ Mr. SwinglerHas the Parliamentary Secretary read the recent report of our commercial attaché in Japan that Japanese commercial conditions are to some extent reviving the counterfeiting of British goods in Japan, with the assistance of foreign capital, and can he say what protest has been made about these cases by the President of the Board of Trade, and what action can be taken to put a stop to this malpractice?
§ Mr. StraussI should not like to answer that detailed Question without notice, but I would inform the hon. Member that of the 330 cases not more than 20 were from Japan, and that in the cases which we have brought to their notice the Japanese Government have not been unreasonable.