‘No evidence’ of sustained hit to UK exports to EU since Brexit trade deal

 Sales into Europe remained strong, experts find

Source - Daily Telegraph

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Sales into Europe remained strong, experts find

By

Louis Ashworth

26 April 2022 • 6:00am

There is no evidence of a “sustained decline” in UK exports to the EU since the Brexit deal kicked in, a report has found.

Experts said sales into Europe remained strong, despite a 25pc relative decline in imports from the bloc compared with the rest of the world.

The research, published by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, is claimed by its authors to be the most full study into the effects of Brexit on UK and EU trade since the referendum in 2016.

The report suggested the biggest impact may have been felt across smaller-scale trade links with the Continent. It found a “sharp drop” in the number of trade relationships between UK exporters and EU importers, "with lower value relationships hit particularly hard".

Thomas Prayer, one of the authors, said: “It appears the UK simply stopped selling a lot of products to smaller countries in the EU."

The economists said their findings may partially reflect "temporary changes as firms adjust to the new trading environment".

“It may be several years before the economy fully adjusts to the increase in trade, investment and migration barriers under the TCA,” they said.

Researchers found Brexit’s impacts on trade were only felt once the Trade and Cooperation Agreement kicked in, rather than steadily since the referendum.

Thomas Sampson, co-author and associate professor of economics at LSE, said: “The Trade and Cooperation Agreement has increased trade costs... These changes make the UK a harder place to do business.”

The TCA is still not being fully enforced, with recent reports suggesting Boris Johnson is poised to further delay the introduction of new checks on products entering Britain from the EU.

Full checks on goods being exported into Europe have been in place since the start of 2021.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are ensuring that businesses of all sizes have the support they need to trade effectively with Europe and seize new opportunities as we strike trade deals around the world.”