§ Mr. Mathewasked the President of the Board of Trade whether Her Majesty's Government will take part in the next meeting of the Council of 45W Europe's committee of experts on wines and spirits, which is expected to discuss regulations relating to the production and commerce of spirits that may directly affect British exports of whisky and gin.
§ Mr. MaudlingNo. As I understand the Committee's terms of reference, its main task will be to arrange an agreement on methods of production, protection of trade names and the struc-46W ture and operation of the bodies which would administer the agreement. Our system of trade names—including their use as indications of origin—is based upon the Merchandise Marks Acts, 1887–1953, and is fundamentally different from that prevailing in some continental countries; I do not, therefore, consider that we can make any useful contribution to this aspect of the Committee's work.