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| BAB
2004 | Welcome
to the UK >
Welcome from the US Ambassador |
Welcome
from the US Ambassador  |
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| The Honourable
William S Farish, US Ambassador to the Court
of St James’s, looks at how the links between
the US and UK have weathered devastating storms
to go from strength to strength |
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BritishAmerican Business
Inc is one of the leading proponents of transatlantic
trade and investment in the United Kingdom and the United
States. As the United States Ambassador to the Court of
St James’s, it gives me great pleasure to welcome
you to this year’s edition of BABi’s UK “Handbook”.
The ties between the UK and the US have always been strong.
We have a common language, heritage and work ethic. Our
bonds have strengthened in recent years and, increasingly,
we work as partners in pursuit of common goals.
Our partnership is based on mutual values and shared objectives,
which translates into a common vision of foreign policy
as well as a similar approach to business. We share a
commitment to building a more competitive environment,
investing in our people, in science and technology, and
breaking down trade barriers.
Over the past few years, our common commercial interests
have weathered a number of storms, from terrorist attacks
that harmed the important US/UK tourism industry, to corporate
scandals and bearish financial markets.
Yet, both of our economies have come back stronger and
more confident. We see even brighter business forecasts
on the horizon. New corporate accounting regulations are
being put into place to prevent a repeat of the Enron
debacle. Tourism has bounced back to near pre-2001 levels.
And the financial markets have turned around after the
sharp declines of 2002. In both countries, interest rates
have remained low, inflation is minimal and unemployment
is decreasing.
In the past few years, much has been done to create a
better environment for economic growth. Policies on both
sides of the Atlantic have been instituted that encourage
transparency and capital formation. The regulatory and
tax burdens have been lessened, promoting greater flexibility
and productivity, which leads to freer and fairer competition.
For American companies, the UK offers great opportunity
for investment. Within the European Union, the UK is the
model of economic growth and flexibility.
In a recent Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu report, the UK was
rated as having the greatest productivity in Europe in
the last half of 2003. In the six-year history of the
survey, the UK has one of the sharpest rates of growth
in the EU.
American trade and investment represent a significant
portion of this growth. The UK exports more goods and
services to the US than to any other single country. In
2002, this amounted to over £36bn ($66bn), making
the UK the sixth largest source of imports to the US.
The UK imports around £35.6bn ($65bn) from the US
and is our fourth largest destination for exports.
US investment over the past three years has created over
60,000 new jobs in the UK. Direct US investment in the
UK for 2002 was over £9.85bn ($18bn), while direct
UK investment in the US was around £7.7bn ($14bn).
It is no wonder that over one million British people work
for American companies and, likewise, approximately one
million Americans work for British companies. Your business
can share in this growth and in the transatlantic partnership.
There is no better place to start to plan your UK investment
than with BABi.
This year’s edition of the BABi Handbook provides
a great deal of useful information and is an invaluable
tool, which can help guide your investment in the UK.
Don’t forget that our US Commercial Service is also
here to help and details of the assistance it can provide
are in this book as well.
Welcome to the world of transatlantic business. This is
a partnership you can rely on.
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