OVERSEAS TRADE
MEMORANDUM 10/69
Outward Trade Missions
The mission scheme, run by BNEC for the Board of Trade, has been in existence for nearly four years, and posts are well aware of the basic ground rules which allow businessmen to secure a refund of their costs of 50% of the tourist air fare (in some cases 75%) and of hotel bills. Instructions about the scheme were issued as OTM 6/65, and amended in Mr. Currall's letter (and annexes) of 28 April, 1967, and in OTM 23/68. This memorandum is being issued in agreement with the F.C.O., to remind posts of certain aspects of the scheme which we have found from experience seem to cause problems and misunderstanding.
1. General
It should be realised that the Board of Trade do not exercise any direct control nor have any power of veto over missions. Decision-taking has been delegated to BNEC. Nor, once BNEC have approved a mission, are they able to exercise any direct control over the sponsoring organisation. Nevertheless, if posts have reasoned arguments to put forward, the Board of Trade and BNEC will in suitable cases do what they can to help. It is therefore important that in any cases of difficulty they should be put in the picture at an early stage.
This applies particularly to the subject matter of headings 4, 5 and 7 below. It is equally important that if posts find it necessary to exercise the limited power of control they have, they should copy any correspondence with sponsoring organisations to the Board of Trade and BNEC as a forewarning of possible irate reactions. BNEC are trying to introduce a higher degree of co-ordination and a sense of priorities into the planning of the mission programme. Accordingly, if sponsoring organisations approach posts direct with proposals, although posts may wish to express some opinion on the appropriateness of the proposals, they should avoid committing themselves too firmly (especially on timing) unless it is clear that the proposals have already been cleared with BNEC. Here again correspondence should be copies to the Board of Trade and BNEC, if necessary with a fuller statement of the post's recommendations.
2.
Advance Notice
Sponsors must give posts at least three months' and preferably six months' notice of proposed missions; they must present reasonably well prepared proposals within these time limits. The minimum period can only be reduced with the approval of both BNEC and the posts. If a sponsor has not given at least the minimum notice, posts need have no hesitation in rejecting the mission if they consider the notice too short to ensure adequate handling. Their decision on this is final.
3. Timing
Posts should consider the timing of the mission so as not to exhaust the goodwill of local businessmen and officials, not to overload the operating capacity of the post itself. Posts' advice on timing is, from these points of view, accepted as decisive. A discriminating use of this authority should keep the load on posts within reasonable bounds, but commonsense must be applied, e.g. posts must make every effort to accept missions as part of the build-up to a British Week.
4.
Commercial Objectives
Where posts have political objections or clear-cut economic onjections (e.g. embargoes on imports of particular products) their opinions will be regarded as decisive. Where their objections are of a general commercial nature, the position is less clear-cut. If posts have strong doubts about the commercial
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