Patterns of U.s. Divestment in Britain

The recent announcement by the Johnson Administration of the cut—back in overseas American investment, with its inevitable repercussions on the British economy, has again high-lighted the extent of U.S. ownership of British industry. According to the January 7th Sunday Telegraph, American capital, while it is yet far from majority control, is nevertheless concent— rated almost exclusively in the growth sectors of the economy, i.e., an area which the left has consistently argued should be under public ownership. The Telegraph article shows that American investment in Britain has trebled in the past ten years; and in the ast seventeen years has jumped” from 786 million dollars to 6,000 million dollars. Just ason the Continent,in Britain. , the Sunday Telegraph notes, "probably three-quarters of U.S. capital hes been sunk into six major industries — electronica, motors, computers, drugs, petroleum (now an important base for chemicals) and offices machinery." The motor industry is 55% American owned, computers 45%, petroleum, tractors and agricultural machinery 40%, drugs 20% and instrum— ents 15%. The article claims that “American controlled companies manufacture 10% of all British goods for consumption and export, and own an estimated 7% of total non-financial assets. But direct U.S. investment has been rising at a rate of 10% for 10 years and since American companies are in the growth areas they are expanding faster than the rest so that on current trends they could claim as much as a fifth of British industry in a decade's time." We question whether or not it makes a great deal of difference if a boss is one nationality or another; we only know that whatever the nation of origin, capital itself is inhuman. SBefore being elected, the Labour Party leaders chofe not to fuce this problem and instead talked vaguely about "encouraging" the growth sector — Wilson's so-called "science-based" industries. Now that sector couldn't be more vulnerable, and with the eut—back in American investment, it is threatened with stagnation. 4s the eacitalist world faces crisis and American capital has to be controlled to protect the dollar the argument for social ownership of these industries is stronger than ever before.