INVISIBLE EXPORTS.
Now, for many years we had what is called a visible adverse balance of trade. That means that when the value of our goods sent abroad has been set against the value of the goods received from abroad, the balance has been against us, even in normal times, to the tune of some few hundred millions of pounds. This great adverse balance, however, has been offset by what is described as our "invisible exports." These consist of certain transactions which are not recorded in ordinary trade returns. One of the main items of these invisible exports consists of the interest- due to us every year by foreign countries on the investments which we and our forefathers—and especially our forefathers—have made during the past century in loans to foreign Governments and foreign undertakings. Another item consists of freights, that is, the charge - made by British shipping companies to foreign countries for the carriage of their goods. And yet another item is that which is expressed in services rendered by us to foreign countries. Thus as a journalist I may write certain articles for foreign newspapers and the payment I receive makes a minute contribution to our- invisible exports as represented by services rendered from this country to another. What I have described as the visible adverse balance has been steadily growing in recent years, and especially in the post-War years, but until quite recently the figures repre- sented by our invisible exports have served to turn the balance slightly on the right side.
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