Saturday, September 11, 2021
UK trade with EU falls sharply
The Guardian reports on official data that shows Britain’s trade with the EU falling sharply in July, with Brexit and the global pandemic driving exports £1.7bn lower than in July 2018 and imports falling by £3bn:
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the fall was largely driven by declines in medicinal and pharmaceutical products, which have been particularly hit by the need for separate regulatory approval post Brexit.
Experts said the latest ONS figures could be a sign that the UK is losing its overall competitiveness.
Compared with 2018, which the ONS describes as the most recent “stable” period in UK trade, the change in trading levels is stark.
In July, total exports of goods, excluding precious metals, fell by £300m because of a £900m (6.5%) fall in exports to the EU, the ONS said.
At the same time, exports to non-EU countries increased by £700m, not enough to compensate for the overall fall.
Although this may not have been on the side of the Boris Bus, experts had predicted these falls as a consequence of Brexit. It is just a shame that Ministers had stopped listening to experts by that point.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the fall was largely driven by declines in medicinal and pharmaceutical products, which have been particularly hit by the need for separate regulatory approval post Brexit.
Experts said the latest ONS figures could be a sign that the UK is losing its overall competitiveness.
Compared with 2018, which the ONS describes as the most recent “stable” period in UK trade, the change in trading levels is stark.
In July, total exports of goods, excluding precious metals, fell by £300m because of a £900m (6.5%) fall in exports to the EU, the ONS said.
At the same time, exports to non-EU countries increased by £700m, not enough to compensate for the overall fall.
Although this may not have been on the side of the Boris Bus, experts had predicted these falls as a consequence of Brexit. It is just a shame that Ministers had stopped listening to experts by that point.
