Conservative MPs have begun to lobby Rishi Sunak to scrap EU trademark rules which they argue have seen British consumers forking out more on popular brands for decades. The Prime Minister is being urged to seize an easy Brexit win by repealing Brussels’ protectionist regulations and slashing prices for Britons.
Under EU law, brands are able to veto the sale of their products in the UK if the goods have already been put on the market in a non-EU country.
The main drawback is that British firms are barred from stocking up with items from North American wholesalers at a reduced cost.
Coming into force in 1989, the Trade Marks Directive has since been upheld by EU court rulings.
In November 2001, European judges rules that Tesco was not allowed to sell imported Levi jeans from the US at cheap prices.
Rishi Sunak is under pressure from Tory MPs to fix the migrant crisis urgently, as the UK is facing a continuing crisis. Two Tory MPs told Express.co.uk that the Prime Minister needs to have provided a solution to the problem by the spring in order to maintain his grip on the party.
The judge’s decision overturned earlier rulings by British courts that brands did not have veto powers on the sale of non-counterfeit items.
Canada, the US and Singapore have all allowed branded goods that have already gone on the market in other countries to be sold to their consumers.
John Penrose MP is calling for the UK to follow suit, saying: “This was introduced by the EU a few decades ago and suits big businesses because it pads their profits, but it means we’re all paying more than we should.
“Scrapping it would make things more affordable for everyone, at a time when money is tight and we’re all [struggling with spiralling prices].”
It comes after a committee of MPs suggested scrapping the Trade Marks Directive could help bring down prices in the shops in a report published back in 1999.
The committee highlighted that the EU rule had been inflating the cost of clothes, shoes, perfume, toiletries and cars.
They pointed to research by the Swedish government report on the benefits of embarrassing “parallel exports” to keep costs down.
Swedish authority had found being able to shop around globally had resulted in 30 percent in savings off the price of food, shoes and car parts and between 50-70 percent for clothes.
British MPs believe the benefits could also extend to different sectors of the UK economy, not just retail, they said: “Such a flexible approach would not only lead to cheaper goods for consumers but would address the different needs of different sectors”
Meanwhile, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned that a significant number of businesses are still struggling with the UK-EU trade deal.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, called for an “honest dialogue” on improving the UK-EU trading relationship.
She said: “Businesses feel they are banging their heads against a brick wall as nothing has been done to help them, almost two years after the TCA was first agreed. The longer the current problems go unchecked, the more EU traders go elsewhere, and the more damage is done.”