From Good to Fair

The British, who had been telling themselves for several years that they never had it so good, are now getting the word that 1960 was only fair.

Though the country's imports shot up 14% last year, exports rose a mere 6%. In comparison, West Germany's exports rose 16.7%, France's 28%, Italy's 26%. Last week 13,500 British autoworkers were out of jobs, and the carmaking industry was operating at half of capacity. Despite a rush of "hot money" to London in the year-end flight from the U.S. dollar, Britain's 1960 balance of international payments showed an overall billion-dollar deficit.

Once again, for the umpteenth time since World War II, it was time for their leaders to remind this nation of traders that they must export or perish. It is a lesson Britons know well, and on cue they burst into selfcriticism. Critics cited examples of British firms that still often give Continental customers specifications of products in feet instead of meters. Others complained that some British companies neglect to provide service for their products after they sell them, as their German rivals do. Still others told of Dutch and German firms that snatched contracts away from Britons by promising months earlier delivery on heavy machinery orders. At one exporters' conference, Peter Tennant, overseas director of the Federation of British Industries, warned that the British were getting a "bad reputation" for breaking delivery dates.

Tennant also stressed the "danger" of not sharing in "this tremendous growth" of the European Economic Community. Tennant was apparently hinting at what an increasing number of British businessmen think--Britain must join the Common Market or face the prospect of falling behind in the export race.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.