Connached,
I agree and I also think this situation is going to drive even more Manufacturing to lower priced Labour Markets or Manufacturers in the West will have to Automate more to get their costs down.To enable this to happen in the UK we will want low Interest Rates like the US but we have the wrong Policies in action here regarding Interest Rates.Brown thinks he can stop Inflation here by Interest Rates being high but this Inflation is coming from all over the World in the form of higher prices for Raw Materials and Primary products as you say and there is now a new and immense alternative Market in the Far East.The Americans would seem to have realised this and with Interest Rates very low they will be encouraged to Invest in Home Industry whereas here Investors and Manufacturers will move to a cheaper Manufacturing Base because it will be too expensive in the Uk to operate or Invest in Manufacture.
I know I keep saying it but Politics here has got to get with the times and get Experienced people educated in the correct subjects who know what they are doing, what we have at the moment is a farce.