§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish a table showing the balance of trade figures, excluding oil and foodstuffs between the United
224WStates direct investment abroad (including oil). It covers 1960 and subsequent years and is shown as a percentage of gross national product (which includes profits earned abroad) and for the United Kingdom in money values, in the following table. Overseas direct investment measures the amounts invested in share and loan capital, retained profits and trade credit by United Kingdom companies in their related concerns abroad.
How much out of these amounts is used by the overseas concerns for capital expenditure on fixed assets and expenditure on stocks and work in progress is not known, and so no comparison is possible with home investment of all United Kingdom companies which relates only to such expenditure. Almost all United Kingdom direct investment overseas is financed from profits retained overseas or by foreign currency borrowing, and does not reduce the United Kingdom reserves.
Kingdom and the original six members of the Community, expressed in £ sterling as at the time of joining and for the latest 12 months, and the comparative figures for United Kingdom trade, excluding oil and foodstuffs, with the rest of the world.
225W
§ Mr. Parkinson, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 21 May 1979; Vol. 967 c. 30] gave the following answer:
UNITED KINGDOM BALANCE OF TRADE EXCLUDING OIL AND FOOD* EEC (6) OTS basis £ million Rest of World 1973 -672 +798 1978 -2,436 +4,625 * Food is defined as Section O of SITC (Rev 2) and Oil as Division 33.