Friendly Visitor

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s visit to Washington was an undoubted success in terms of reaffirming the long and close friendship between Great Britain and America, but she may not have succeeded on her principal mission.

In an address to a joint session of Congress, the British leader appealed to Americans not “to buy the deaths of Irishmen” by contributing money to front groups for Irish Republican Army terrorists--a message that cannot be repeated too often. She carefully limited her support of President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative to the research phase. She reminded Congress of Western Europe’s substantial contributions to its own defense, and expressed frank admiration for the resurgence of American pride and self-confidence that she perceives. Overall, the tone was very positive.

There isn’t much doubt, though, that the major message that she wanted to deliver--more in private than in public--was the importance of steps to bring down U.S. interest rates and to moderate the excessive value of the dollar relative to the British pound and other major trading currencies.

The British economy is experiencing modest recovery. Inflation is down. Exports are accelerating, in large part because the pound’s decline to a historic low of under $1.10 makes British goods cheap here. But the unemployment rate is the highest since World War II, and British economists worry that the country’s long-term prospects are being undermined by the flow of investment money to America. Other European governments are similarly concerned. They share Thatcher’s conviction that the strong dollar poses a dangerous threat to the world economy, and ultimately to America’s own prosperity. And so it does.

The cure must include a big reduction in the federal budget deficit. The President refuses to recognize that this depends on higher taxes and tighter restraints on military spending. It will take more than a friendly visit from Maggie Thatcher to change his mind. But at least she did her best.