Goods that are traded between the United Kingdom and European Union nations have been hurt by red tape from Brexit, and the problem is getting much worse for British businesses.
A new report found that many smaller producers in the UK are altogether giving up exporting any small amounts to EU nations after they’re forced to face new regulations and rules.
The report, conducted by the Aston University Business School, found that from 2021 to 2023, UK goods exports to EU nations dropped 27%, with imported goods also 32% down from where they would’ve been if Brexit never happened.
The report doesn’t include the service sector, as that has performed a lot better than a lot of people expected it would since Brexit.
The study also found that the variety of export goods traded in that timeframe, with 1,645 fewer types of products from Britain exported to every country in the EU.
The study’s authors concluded that all of this is because smaller producers in the UK aren’t exporting consignments to some of the nations in the EU since they must deal with increased red tape.
BBC Today spoke with local business owner Mary Quicke, of Quicke’s Cheeses, who said she’s found it “really, really difficult to deal with all the regulatory burdens” that are in place following Brexit.
In the past, she supplied four different customers in the EU directly, but “we had to give them away to somebody else. We just don’t have the people to do the paperwork.”
According to the report, the “negative impacts of the [trade agreement] have intensified over time, with 2023 showing more pronounced trade declines than previous years.”
One of the authors of the study, Jun Du, commented that regulations have increased, such as “product standards, safety checks and labeling requirements.” She added:
“While these measures do protect customers, competition and the environment, they also increasingly bring difficulties and costs for traders.”
The study said that the industries that have been hit the hardest by Brexit are materials manufacturing, such as paper and wood, as well as textiles and agrifood.
The trade that’s been impacted the most, according to the study, is that which is done with countries in the EU that are farther away from the UK. This includes some of the Commonwealth’s allies, including Malta and Cyprus.
At the same time, a small percentage of sectors have been resilient through Brexit. This is especially true for experts to some of the biggest economies in the EU, including France and Germany.
In terms of the variety of exports to countries in the EU, the biggest increases have come from the aircraft, railway and tobacco sectors.
A spokesperson for the government commented recently:
“[We will] work to improve our trade and investment relationship with the EU and tear down unnecessary trade barriers, while recognizing that there will be no return to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement.”
