Brexit: UK share of EU export and import trade tumbles further as cross-Channel trade declines
The UK’s share of EU27 goods exports fell from 6.2 percent in 2019 to 5.2 percent last year, while its share of EU27 goods imports fell from 3.9 percent to 2.6 percent over the same period, according to new figures published in Germany today.
The decline comes after Britain’s share of exports dropped from 7.1 percent in 2015 to 6.2 percent in 2019, the ifo Institute said. Its share of EU27 imports fell from 4.4 percent to 3.9 percent over the same period.
More trade was then diverted away from the United Kingdom as the pandemic progressed, the researchers found.
“Some of the negative impact of Brexit on economic performance and trade already took place before the UK left the EU in 2020,” said Lisandra Flach, Director of the ifo Center for International Economics.
“This was due to increased uncertainty for companies and the fact that they started adapting to the new environment soon after the referendum in 2016,” she pointed out.
Although the Trade and Cooperation Agreement did manage to avoid higher tariffs, since January 2021 most products have had to overcome at least one new barrier before they can cross the UK-EU border, Flach added.
“These new barriers are devastating for businesses in the EU and in the UK, and especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Lisandra Flach, Director of the ifo Center for International Economics
Such barriers include inspection certificates as well as other documents and requirements that make the border crossing more time-consuming and complicated, resulting in higher trade costs.
“This is even more of a problem in the middle of a pandemic, since this might make it harder for companies to find alternative markets. SMEs in particular have less diversified supply chains, and the fixed costs of finding alternative trading partners may simply be too high for them,” she concluded.