The world is experiencing a period of unprecedented economic turmoil and the UK is no exception. However, everyday there are also stories of success, entrepreneurship and growth; stories of innovation, courage and determination. And it is those people and businesses that will lead the UK in being at the forefront of the global recovery.

In the 19th century Britain was the “workshop of the world” and our finished goods – particularly textiles – were produced so efficiently, they could out-manufacture almost any other market. Today, we are no longer a major mass-market textile producer. Instead, our proposition has evolved and our cutting edge expertise shines through across our diversified economy. I can see this here in Argentina, with UK companies successfully doing business in all sectors of the economy: in banking, in energy, in manufacturing, in creative industries and in low carbon solutions sector, to name a few.

The UK remains highly globalised. We are ranked as the 4th most open economy in the world.  We are the world’s 6th largest manufacturer and manufacturing accounts for more than half our exports. Our manufacturing is high-tech, high-skill and high-end, for example the aviation industry, which helps produce more than one-third – the wings and engines – of the largest, most advanced and environmentally friendly commercial aircraft ever made.

But, the UK’s economy is more than manufacturing. It is highly diversified and covers a wide spectrum of industries. These include advanced engineering (more than half of the F1 teams are based in the UK); Research & Development (the UK leads the world with 70 Nobel Prizes), Information Communication Technology (the UK is home to Europe’s largest ICT industry, employing over 1m people and contributing 10% to UK GDP).

I think that two industries stand out. The first is the Low Carbon Solutions and environment industry. It has a turnover of £25bn (US$40,000m) and employs around 400,000 in some 17,000 companies. In 2008, the UK overtook Denmark in having the world’s largest installed capacity of off-shore wind energy generation and the University of Cambridge is home to the world’s most advanced photo-voltaic research & development in the creation of organic solar cells. And there is still huge potential: the North West of Scotland has the best tidal flows in the world that could be harnessed in the future. In total, the industry’s projected growth is to £46bn (US$74,000m) by 2015.

The second, the Creative Industry, is traditionally not thought to be a UK strength. However, it accounts for 6.4% of UK Gross Value Added and is the largest in Europe with some 157,400 businesses in 2008. The iconic iPod was designed by Jonathan Ive and the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee – both are Brits. The UK’s fashion industry is on the cutting edge and our creative design is world leading. British fashion designers are global household names: Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey, John Galliano, Stella McCartney, John Richmond and Julian McDonald to name a few. And the London Fashion Week attracts visitors from over 25 countries, including a group from Argentina sponsored by this Embassy. LFW generates orders in the region of £100m (US$160m) each season – that’s twice a year.  

The success of the UK’s economy has been to remain an open economy. This will continue in the future. We do not believe that even in times of economic stress, barriers to trade should go up to artificially protect domestic industry from international competition. This approach would be dangerous for the UK’s economy. And it would be dangerous for the global economy; the protectionism that followed the 1929 Wall Street Crash ensured the protracted nature of the Great Depression.

I strongly believe that trade is essential to the prosperity of the world economy and remains one of the main avenues open to increase productivity and growth. The UK’s economy has benefited hugely from its ability to export and attract foreign investment and this is a path that we must, and will, continue to follow.