§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether European Economic Community rules can prevent the import of Japanese products into the United Kingdom through other European Economic Community countries in the same way as the French have prevented the importation of Japanese television sets.
§ Mr. ParkinsonNo. Action by the Commission under article 115 of the Treaty of Rome to authorise a member State to deny entry to goods already in free circulation within the Community can generally be taken only when imports of the same goods direct from the third country concerned are subject to formal quota. The United Kingdom has no formal restrictions on imports from Japan, whereas the French do have long-standing residual quotas on Japanese television sets which they used as a basis for their application for article 115 action. These quotas pre-dated the formation of the Community.