British shoppers are being denied cheaper US goods under a controversial EU law that Brexiteers are urging ministers to scrap.< /p>
Eurosceptic MPs have called on Downing Street to include European trademark rules in this summer's planned bonfire of Brussels bureaucracy.
British businesses are banned from selling legitimate brands such as clothing, cosmetics and electronics , if they have already been placed on the market in a country outside the EU.
This rule means that a UK store cannot buy goods from wholesalers in countries such as the US and Canada, although prices are usually lower there.< /p>
This effectively turns Europe into a protective bubble for global companies, which means they can charge fees. There are more British clients than anywhere else in the world.
Rishi Sunak is facing another Tory riot, and Brexit supporters are poised to introduce their own bill in the House of Commons calling for the bill to be repealed.
markets should be as open as possible.
EU vs UK prices
An impact assessment done for the Business Department last year found that breaking the rules would lead to lower prices and more consumer choice.
But The Telegraph understands that the newly created Department of Science, Innovation and Technology intends to advise maintaining the current regime.
An internal government assessment found that abandoning it and opening up to the world “could put downward pressure on existing domestic prices suppliers.
“The transition to an international regime can positively affect the welfare of consumers in terms of increased availability of goods, competition and lower prices,” the message says.
One of the possible disadvantages is that consumers are confused by such products, like books written in English in the US, or branded alcoholic beverages with different flavors.
The dossier also states that the repeal of the rules will negatively impact large firms as it will “reduce or limit their ability to raise prices” in the UK.
Senior Conservative MPs expressed dismay that the rules would remain in place and urged Mr Sunak to reconsider given the cost-of-living crisis.
An influential European MP study group is now plans to introduce a bill on private members that aims to deregulate.
Its chairman, Marc Francois, said: “The Prime Minister has promised to halve inflation, so similar post-Brexit measures that could help bring prices down should encourage, not resist.”
“Everything always comes back to the same question: who really runs the country, the Cabinet or the Blob?” , and now we' Freed from restrictive rules, we must be on the client's side.
Especially now, when we need any help to get inflation under control. People have been suffering for long enough and we need to relieve the pressure.”
The current rules are based on the Brussels Trademark Directive, which was adopted in 1989 and reinforced by decisions of the EU courts.
In a landmark ruling in 2001, European judges banned Tesco from selling Levi's jeans that it had . imported at a lower price from a wholesaler in the US.
Their verdict overturned a previous ruling by British courts that found brands had no right to block the sale of genuine products.
In others countries, including Canada, the United States and Singapore, have international regimes that allow parallel imports from all over the world.
A government spokesman insisted that a decision had not yet been made and it was still considering responses to public consultations on what to do.
“Given the difficulty of assessing the economic impact of any potential change rules, it is very important that the government take the time to fix this,” he said.
“A decision on this matter will be announced in due course.”
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