TNAG-0938-FCO40-1157-Visit-of-John-Nott--Secretary-of-State-for-Trade--to-Hong-Ko-1980 — Page 178

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to SELL. It is for us as Ministers to give them maximum support,

indicate our interest in overseas markets and show our faces to

the British trading community abroad and our potential customers

overseas.

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Thirdly, we have indicated our determination to bring forward albeit contentious legislation to defend British interests against attempts by other countries to assert extra-

territorial jurisdiction. The Protection of Trading Interests

Bill which is now before Parliament considerably extends our powers to block unwarranted demands on British businesses from overseas countries and signals in particular our resistance to the system of penal awards for off-shore ringements of

US anti-trust law.

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Fourth, we are now reviewing the organisation of our export

services. The Rayner Report which has just come before Ministers

will receive the closest scrutiny and consultation. I am sure

that in the next year or so we must make a priority in our trading arrangements, the simplifying of procedures, the streamlining of the export promotion services and the production of an altogether more rational organisation on the export side

than we have had up to now. I announced a few weeks ago the

abolition of Import Surveillance Licensing. Here was but one

small example of an extremely bureaucratic process involving

British industry and commerce in considerable expense and time for no material purpose. I said at the time: "National

surveillance licensing involved a substantial burden on industry and government: it was expensive in terms of manpower and time

and its impact on reducing imports was minimal. I am glad to see another costly piece of unnecessary bureaucracy disappear",

13 Fifth, we are concerned as was the previous Government about unemployment, and we accept that subsidies or temporary protection may in certain cases have to be used to soften hardship

and case change. But subsidies are the worse form of non-tariff

We do not believe that continuing overmanning,

barwder to trado.

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