Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring online marketplaces to detail country of origin information on goods.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCRs) require traders to provide consumers with specified pre-purchase information including the main characteristics of goods, services or digital content. This does not necessarily include the country of origin.

Consumers are free to enquire to the seller about the origin of products. Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs), traders are banned from giving consumers false information or using misleading statements or presentation about the geographical or commercial origin of products. The Regulations carry criminal penalties and are enforced by local trading standards officers.