Circular 'O' 128/86 Home 'A' 136/86
RAI
For information: all Geographical Departments and all Posts
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1H 9NL
30 June 1986
MANAGEMENT OF EXPORT PROMOTION WORK: MARKET ASSESSMENTS EXERCISE
1.
Britain's dependence on foreign trade continues to grow (25% of gdp in 1975, 30% in 1985). Our traditional markets in the Commonwealth are changing, our markets in developed countries, especially Europe, are growing, and new markets are opening up. Sharp competition and events such as the debt and oil price crises make life harder for our exporters.
2.
About one third of the Diplomatic Service's resources go to helping our firms with business. Yet the absolute volume of resources available to ourselves and the DTI continues to be squeezed. The FCO and DTI have therefore over the past year been working towards more coordinated and flexible joint management of the resources the two Departments have available for export promotion work. More generally, as you know, we are under pressure from Ministers to tighten up management procedures for the Service as a whole.
3.
The DTI's annual Market Assessments Programme is an ideal vehicle for better joint management of export promotion work. The DTI have agreed that, with effect from this year, the Programme should be a joint exercise by the FCO and the DTI. Briefly, the exercise aims to:
(a)
set out the main features of individual markets and of HMG's approach to export promotion in those markets;
(b)
―
review the level of export promotion resources staffs in Posts abroad allocated to those markets; and
including the size of commercial
(c)
recommend the redeployment of resources where changes in individual or regional markets make that desirable.
Within the DTI the exercise is conducted at country, regional and global levels before being put to the BOTB Main Board for approval. To play an effective part in the joint management of the exercise, the FCO will need a parallel system. Geographical departments are well qualified to handle the work at country and regional levels since they are responsible for economic, commercial and financial questions of a bilateral or regional nature. They should also have a good knowledge of other factors, including political objectives, which might affect export promotion work in their area. There is a parallel with the annual discussion of aid priorities with the ODA in which departments are already involved.
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