Commenting on this morning's trade figures showing a widening of the trade deficit Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Matthew Taylor said: "With investment stagnant and the trade deficit widening, Britain is performing worse than our major competitors in many areas."
"Gordon Brown likes to blame the rest of the world for our economic problems. But the evidence is clear - his red tape, tax complications, and a history of an over-valued pound have left us trailing the world."
1. This morning's figures showed that exports (excluding oil & erratics) in the last three months have fallen 7.5% on the same three months last year.
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