It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to BritishAmerican Business 2003. We here at Embassy London value our long and fruitful relationship with BritishAmerican Business Inc. If you are thinking of joining the transatlantic business community, there is no better place to start than with BABi.

As I write this greeting, we are all preoccupied by military conflict in Iraq, praying for the safety of the coalition’s brave servicemen and women and for a quick resolution that will allow us all to turn our focus to building a better future.

But also as I write this, the rest of life – in government, in the private sector – continues, even if it doesn’t make the headlines. We business people know that even, perhaps especially, in uncertain times, it is crucial to keep our sights focused firmly on our ideals and objectives. Success comes to those who keep moving forward, who adapt, who are dynamic.

I like to say that business is one of the pillars supporting the “special relationship” between the United States and the UK.

The UK has long been the US’s largest European market and our fourth largest worldwide, while the US remains Britain’s number-one export market.

In terms of total trade and investment, we do more business with Britain than with any other country, aside from our next-door neighbour, Canada.

And despite the global uncertainty, that relationship looks to be staying firmly on track.

Bilateral trade in services reached $61bn in 2002, an increase of 13%.

Services trade grew in both directions, and offset a drop in goods trade to keep the total of US/UK trade in goods and services at just over $130bn!

Your business can be part of all this, and this handbook can help. Among the useful information you will find in these pages are details of the assistance available from our US Commercial Service.

So, welcome to the world of transatlantic business.
We look forward to seeing you around.