HC Deb 05 June 1956 vol 553 cc37-8W
32. Mr. Fletcher-Cooke

asked the President of the Board of Trade to consider amending the Regulations by which textiles coming from Hong Kong are labelled as Empire products even though only a small fraction of their cost of production has originated within the British Empire.

Mr. Walker-Smith

No. Imported goods, including textiles, should not be marked as Empire products unless they were produced, or last underwent before importation a substantial change, in an Empire country. It would be for the courts to decide what constitutes a substantial change in a particular case.