§ Mr. Dan Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Trade what action he has taken with regard to the illegal textile imports from Hong Kong referred to by the hon. Member for Burnley, Official Report, 13 November 1979, c. 1199.
§ Mr. ParkinsonMy officials were alerted to these illegal imports by a sudden increase in applications for import licences from Indonesia. Following investigation, a number of firms in Hong Kong were prosecuted and convicted. The EEC Commission is negotiating with Indonesia a system of import licensing which will make any future cases of origin fraud easier to detect. Meanwhile imports will continue to be monitored carefully.