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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require internet retailers to declare countries of origin of items to purchasers in advance of their sale.

Aside from certain specified products such as food there is no requirement for goods to be labelled with their country of origin.

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs), traders are banned from using misleading statements about the geographical or commercial origin of products including in response to requests for information by consumers.

As with other elements of goods, the Government encourages consumers who are interested in a particular property of goods, including their origin, to ask the seller. If they are not happy with the reply, then they can shop elsewhere. If they suspect that the reply is not truthful, then they can take the matter up with their local authority Trading Standards Officers who enforce the CPRs.