Brexit deal impression ‘worsening’, economists say | EUROtoday

Brexit pink tape on British companies has brought about UK-EU items commerce to hunch and the issue is getting worse, economists have warned.

The findings from a report by the Birmingham-based Aston University Business School cowl the three-year interval after the Brexit commerce deal was signed.

The worth of UK items exports to the EU sank 27% and import items 32%, in line with the report, which is essentially the most complete of its sort.

However, tobacco, railway, and plane items exports have elevated.

The report additionally discovered the number of commerce export items has dropped, with 1,645 fewer sorts of British merchandise exported to each EU nation.

The report doesn’t embody the service sector, which has carried out higher than many specialists had anticipated since Brexit.

The authors stated there was a “noticeable worsening of EU-UK trade in 2023”.

“The negative impacts of the [trade agreement] have intensified over time, with 2023 showing more pronounced trade declines than previous years,” the authors added.

Farmers, clothes makers, and wooden and paper producers have been among the many hardest hit industries, with many sub-sectors’ EU export worth falling by well-over half.

The largest drop in export worth was for edible fruit and nuts, which nosedived 73.5%.

Trade with smaller and extra distant international locations within the EU has been affected essentially the most, whereas commerce with bigger and nearer international locations has been affected the least.

The authors stated many smaller British producers had given up on exporting small quantities to some EU nations because the creation of many types of post-Brexit commerce pink tape or non-tariff obstacles.

A authorities spokesperson instructed the BBC it would “work to improve our trade and investment relationship with the EU and tear down unnecessary trade barriers, while recognising that there will be no return to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement.”

The BBC understands that in latest conferences with authorities, enterprise representatives had been invited to contribute early concepts on “resetting” the commerce relationship with the EU, with a concentrate on “economic security”.

Progress is unlikely till subsequent yr, when the brand new European Commission is firmly established, and the UK has itself accomplished new industrial and commerce methods.