asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism in relation to his revocation of the 1984 legislation covering the country of origin of imported products, which came into effect on 15 July 1985, which effectively means that merchandise from any source does not need to have identification or origin either on the product or at the point of sale and that therefore the consumer will have no way of identifying the country of origin before purchasing, if he considers that this is a very serious matter both for the apparel industry and the consumer who is being denied the right to know the origin of the goods he purchases; and if he will be taking the matter up with the European Commission.
Written Answers. - Origin of Imported Products.
31.
The decision to revoke the Consumer Information (Miscellaneous Goods) (Marking) Order, 1984, was taken following receipt of formal notification by the EC Commission of its intention to commence infringement proceedings under Article 169 of the Treaty of Rome in respect of the order. This notice from the Commission followed a judgment delivered by the European Court of Justice in April 1985 which held that a similar legislative provision in the United Kingdom was contrary to Article 30 of the Treaty of Rome. Legal advice was obtained to the effect that the 1984 consumer information order could probably not be upheld in relation to
(i) products originating in EC member states,
(ii) products originating in countries with which the Community has trade agreements prohibiting of quantitative restrictions or measures of equivalent effect, and
(iii) products originating in third countries, which are already in free circulation in the Community.
It was considered that revocation of part only of the order would have resulted in a system which would be confusing for the consumer, may have adversely affected our international trade generally and, furthermore, would have been extremely difficult to administer and enforce. There are no plans to pursue this matter with the EC Commission.