LAST week BMW pledged to invest £3.3 billion in Rover's Longbridge plant, in a deal said to be the largest ever inward investment in the UK Car Industry and set to safeguard almost 9,000 British jobs. It was also reported that BMW was unlikely to see any return on investment for at least six or seven years, giving the strength of sterling as one of the reasons.

Figures from the latest Chamber of Commerce survey due to be published in two weeks shows that manufacturing and exporters in particular continue to suffer under the strength of the pound.

And indeed recent figures from the office of national statistics show UK exports of manufactured goods to countries in the euro-zone have fallen sharply in recent months. They also reported a widening in Britain's traded goods deficit from £1.9bn in March to £2.8bn in April.

This was supplemented by reports that if the euro remained weak the deficit would probably widen further. This all goes to show that whether or not you support UK entry into the European Monetary Union, in reality we can not ignore it. It is about time business rises above the political debate and gets to grip with the key issues. The message is clear, in today's changing environment the future is even more dependent on decisions made in the global economy. No Company, no matter how large or small, can afford to ignore this fact if they are to survive.

For this reason the Southampton & Fareham Chamber of Commerce is developing a South West International Trade Centre, due to be launched soon with the sole aim of providing information, advice and support to business on all international trade matters.

For more information please call 01703 223541. Jacqueline Russell, international trade manager, Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.