Although it is not strictly correct to say that the imposition of a statutory duty to
trade fairly dates from the passing of the Fair Trading Act 1973, this Act is of such
fundamental importance that it inevitably becomes the dominating feature in sur-
veying the 'fair trading' scene in the United Kingdom.

Since the Fair Trading Bill, introduced into the House of Commons in
November 1972, was not preceded by any sort of published enquiry, Green or
White paper, a feature which attracted critical comment in debate (see 848 HC
Official Report (5th series) col 469, 13 December 1972), it is difficult to trace the
precise processes which led up to it. It seems probable that a draft Bill had been
put in hand by the Civil Service, primarily within the Department of Trade and
Industry, to improve the legislation on monopolies and mergers. This coincided
with the appointment with Cabinet rank of a new and energetic Minister for
Trade and Consumer Affairs, Sir Geoffrey Howe, within the giant Department
of Trade and Industry.

Speaking to the Bill on its second reading, and explaining its objects, Sir
Geoffrey Howe remarked that the Bill had two complementary purposes, firstly,
the promotion of increased economic efficiency and secondly, protection of the
consumer against unfair trading practices. He continued:

just as fair trading is good business, so consumer protection is in itself an integral part of the
market economy. That is why competition policy needs to be considered, as it is in the Bill, as
a whole. It is this integrated view of competition policy that leads to the first institutional inno-
vation proposed in the Bill--the appointment of a Director General of Fair Trading . . . The
Government have concluded that given the specialist and detailed nature of the work and the
need for continuity in its performance, it would best be done by an independent official body.

(See 848 HC Official Report (5th series) col 454, 13 December 1972).

The Bill with a number of amendments (about 125 of approximately 4,000 pro-
posed) became law on 25 July 1973.

This chapter covers aspects of Parts II and III of the Act and also includes con-
sideration of whether there should be a general statutory duty to trade fairly,
imposed in wider terms than under the 1973 Act.

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