The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 10, 1979, Page Page 4, Image 4

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Foreign i comm By Ron da Tempteton Owrwcoch Staff Writ?f Americans are "leery" of foreign investment because they want to be sure the United States is being run by Americans, an expert from the Department of Commerce said in a speech at the Business Administration building Thursday. Milton S. Berger, director of the Office of Foreign Investment in the United States, said the rate of foreign investment in this country is increasing at a slower pace than most Americans believe. In 1978, there were $40.8 billion of foreign moneys invested in the United States, Berger said. Only two percent of the United States' gross national product is derived thrugh foreign investment, Berger said. Forty percent of this income comes from manufacturing, 20 percent from petroleum 1 a? - a. r ana anoiner zu perceni irom financial investments, Berger added. THERE WAS A SURGE of foreign investment activities in the early 1970's, according to Berger. This surge vyas caused by the depreciation of the American dollar and the success of European countries, he said. At that time, there was little monitoring of foreign investments by the Department of Commerce, Berger said, but now foreign companies are asked to submit a report on their financial activities everv four months. The United States currently has | a "stable economic and political economic system," Berger said. There is a positive policy toward foreign investment in the United States, he said, and there are few restrictions on foreign investment. Most of the restrictions are in the areas of shipping, aviation, nuclear energy and hydro-electric power, he added. Foreign investment is most significant to the United States' economy in the foreign trade area, Berger said. Approximately 25 percent of the United States': foreign trade comes from the importation and exportation of antnmnhitoc onH tho drain (pdHo uuiumuui.Lj U"U "?v. ft1"'" ?uuv,, he said. Foreign investors also concentrate on chemicals, metals, machinery and food industries, he added. Nine countries account for 90 m' r { ' ' ' ' ' ' ' \ vvv* . . * <iv?vv*v<vv. nvestmen erce expe: percent of all foreign investment in the United States, Berger said. The principal investor is the Netherlands, followed by the United Kingdom and Canada, he added. IN AN INTERVIEW FRIDAY, Berger said most Americans don't realize many of the most popular items in our stores are made bv foreign firms. Bryl Cream, Tetley tea, Lipton products, Good Humor ice cream, Valium and Zig Zag papers are all manufactured by firms with foreign investments of more than 10 percent, he said. The most profitable company founded by foreign money in the United State is Royal Dutch Shell, according to Berger. Shell is an American company in terms of its operation, Berger said. In addition to providing two percent of the jobs in the United States, foreign companies provide competition and income, Berger said. The depreciation of the dollar makes it more expensive for foreign companies to use A mnri r*nn nrnWiir>tc in thnir homo countries, and this impels them to establish production facilities here, Berger said. The most active companies in the United States now are the British, Canadian, German and Japanese facilities, he added. American investment in foreign countries is four times the amount of foreign investment here, Berger said. Most of our investments are in industrialized countries, with the bulk of the investments in kin 933 s: EB0BBS80MHI 799 X l m 7^ ? I !r>j f i fRHpgiii y f*VB ' ; ; . E5^3 l,(3TK?^te ? >/'. '/ V. ' .\\\\ \ v \ WW V r * it slowed, rtsays Canada. "We invest mostly in extraction industries like petroleum and mining," Berger said. THERE IS SOME hostility and mixed feelings about American investment on the part of other countries, Berger said. "There is an antagonistic feeling if people think there is an overwhelming American influence in their nation. 44 We now have control of all the Iranian assets in this country and are entitled to use them in any way to boost our economy," according to Berger. "We have to make a dispostion with the money or use it against our debts," he added. Many Americans are concerned about the amount of farm land being purchased by foreigners, Berger said. "There is a common misconception that (foreign) purchases of farm land are overwhelming," he said. Of all farm land in the United States, 25 percent is owned by Americans' and foreigners buy only about onehalf million acres a year. "It would take 19 years for foreigners to buy one percent of the farm land in the F In i t Cf ofnr " n n unii^u uunto, LICI 5CI oaiu. Berger was a lawyer when he was drafted and sent to Yale to study Chinese during World War II. He served with the Officer's Strategic Services during the war and his knowledge of the Chinese language led him to become a China specialist and eventually head of the Department of Commerce Office of Foreign Investments. k?'s flSBHBBBfflHHi Main St. .3807 MiiiitnrlnnmlB B d ir i r?iMi?x?Iifca^ I r t the b: sotjti I LU ad S (HI MM M W Hi m M MB MM Fall exam schedule | 7:45 p.m. ,9a.m. exam 2p.m. exam !i 5:30 exam exam rw 11 TKntsi MWE1 1A-m TTh Q nn TTKR.in Wi AVI ff JL AW AW A ?? W* WW A A 1ft W * WW . TTh 4:15-7:00* Dec. 14, Fri. 1 TTh 11:00 MWF8:00 Dec. 15,Sat. MWF9:05 MWF2:30 Dec. 17, Mon. TTh 12:30 : TTh3:30 MW7.:00 M7*30 MWF4:40 M 4:15-7:00 npr 1* Tii*? MUIZ? lo-oft MWPll-l'i TTh 7 no T7*1ft ? "? ? 1T1 ?f i . 4/V '? ' * - w * vv * VV J T 4:15-7:00* Dec. 19, Wed. |TTh9:30 MWF1:25 MW5:30 W7:30 .. i . ______ Dec. 20, Thurs. ! MWF 11:15 TTh2:20 TTh 5:00 Single meeting classes between 4:15p.m. and 7 p.m. The USC Columbia Campus will Thursday, Jan. 10. Priority close for the holidays at 5 p.m. Drop/Add for computer assisted Friday, Dec. 21 and will re-open participants is Friday, Jan. 11. Wednesday,Jan. 2at8:30a.m. Packet registration for non preComputer assisted registration registrants is Saturday, Jan. 12. non pre-paid students will pay fees The first day of spring semester and validate their I.D. cards for classes is Monday, Jan. 14. Apthe spring semester Wednesday plication and admission to the Jan. 9, while computer assisted university is required before pre-paid students will pick up tee registration. receipts and validate I.D.'s : I ALL YOlTcAN EAT AT I *S&7// $2.40 MONDAY GAMECOCK NIGHT BUFFET 5:30 - 8:30 INCLUDES MVmMm ol PImam, mmi Salad IT ?TumtiiiffMr mtr I ? " CLIP & USE -----???-^j EST PIZZA IN ! I CAROLINA .. I Always | I Fast, Free Delivery i Every Day Until 3 AM l SPECIAL During Exams e? 2 FREE COKES 4 FREE COKES ? w/Medium w/Large J 0 I tpm Pl77n 9 l+am P ? . . -w . . im-I-VI JCL. I 1 Ul I I I IX./.U " ZALL NOW 254-5414 \ X3SLSSSSSSSSLSSSI-J