90. 06/20
19:36
BRITISH EMBASSY TOKYO
in this respect.
So does Japan both as bastion of freedom in
>
Apia and as one of the wor
st eculiumie powers. Today
therefore I want to discuss what contribution each of
US can
make.
Let me start with Europe. It used to be said that the Europeans
were in the process of constructing a fortress with a free
internal market surrounded by trade barriers. Nowadays it is
more often said that the Europeans are becoming inward looking,
that they are so busy absorbing their own changes that they have
little time for the rest of the world.
statements makes a great deal of sense.
Neither of these
of course there are protectionist pressures within the Community.
It would be astonishing if there were none. But there is little
point in exposing European companies to free competition within
the European market if they are to be protected from competition
with the rest of the world. It is not in Europe's interest for
our industry to be left behind. And the only way to ensure that
our firms keep up is to make them compete worldwide. Inat at
least is the British view. And although we have had some hard
arguments and are bound to have others, for example over Japanese
car imports, so far we have been rather successful in resisting
pressure to construct а European fortress.
The British
Government will continue to resist that. We shall argue for free
trade solutions. We shall continue to welcome foreign
investment.
And we shall continue to ensure that products
manufactured in Britain by foreign companies including Japanese
circulate freely in the Community as European products.