§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Trade what action his Department is taking to prevent the dumping of counterfeit auto accessory parts into the United Kingdom; if he has made representations to the offending nation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Parkinson:The Department consistently advises exporters to obtain patent and trade mark protection before their products are put on the market and will make representations in a bilateral basis where adequate evidence of counterfeiting is available and United Kingdom manufacturers have been unable to obtain redress through legal processes in countries in which their goods have been counterfeited. In addition, we hope that the GATT agreement on measures to 51W discourage the importation of counterfeit goods, under which signatories will be able to seize goods reasonably suspected of being counterfeit at the point of entry will come into effect early in 1981. The Department works closely with the Department of Transport over vehicle components that could be subject to preventative action on road safety grounds.