TNAG-0938-FCO40-1157-Visit-of-John-Nott--Secretary-of-State-for-Trade--to-Hong-Ko-1980 — Page 177

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generality of imports from elsewhere is parallelled by any other than a very few major industrial nations in the world. If British industrialists feel that conditions in the UK are less propitious for manufacturing here than overseas then they are free to move elsewhere. I believe that direct exports flow directly from overseas investment so that any extra movements

If of this kind is to the benefit of British jobs at home. British citizens dislike the British climate, their Trade Unions or other aspects of our system, they can now take their savings with them and work abroad without restriction. By this single measure the British Government has imposed a discipline upon itself which forces it to create internal tax and other conditions for industrial and commercial enterprise which are no less attractive than in countries overseas, and it is worth noting that since all restrictions on capital movements were lifted

and far from the United Kingdom's monetary reserves have risen departing overseas, British talent has started to trek home. Furthermore the total freeing of capital movement is likely to have an important impact upon the cross-exchange of technology and industrial investment between the United Kingdom and the developed nations, the newly industrialised and the developing nations of the world and this was one of my major themes

on my recent visit to Japan.

10 The second area where we are particularly active is in our attempts to get around the world as Ministers. The Prime Minister, at my request, agreed to appoint a Minister for Trade as a Minister of State within my Department to oversee our Government trade effort under me. Already in nine months I believe that he and I have covered as many thousands of miles

as the most active salesman. Our travels have taken us to

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, the Pacific Islands, Mexico, and South America, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, to South East Asia, and Japan, Korea and now Hong Kong. We do not pretend to be "high-powered salesmen". It is for British industry

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