Brexit is hitting the UK export market, according to data from HMRC.
The number of UK businesses exporting goods to the EU fell 33 per cent to 18,357 in 2021, from 27,321 in 2020.
Michelle Dale, a senior manager at accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, pointed out the fall is due to the extra red tape UK businesses must now comply with when exporting to the EU.
“Businesses are not getting enough support from the Government to navigate the post-Brexit trading minefield,” she said, reports City A.M.
“A lot of SMEs can’t afford professional advice to cope with Brexit-related red tape. Many are likely to have decided trading with the EU is not worth the cost,” Dale added.
“Fewer UK companies exporting to the EU will result in lost opportunities for growth and expansion in Europe.”
EU receives UK’s response to legal threats
Meanwhile, the European Union is considering its next steps after receiving the UK’s response to legal threats over the failure to comply with the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.
Despite politics as normal being paused while the nation mourns the Queen’s death, the Government responded to the action ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
The bloc had requested a response to its raft of infringement proceedings over the UK’s failure to comply with the rules before the end of the day.
European Commission spokesman Daniel Ferrie said: “I can confirm we have received a reply from the UK. We will now analyse the reply before deciding on the next steps.”
What the UK’s response contained was unclear, but the Government was expected to set out how it believes that no operational changes on how the protocol works are required.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will be in Westminster for the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
It is unclear if she will be meeting Prime Minister Liz Truss while in London, although Ms Truss is expected to hold some talks with political leaders during their visits.
There have been unconfirmed suggestions that Ms Truss will speak to Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on the margins of the funeral amid tensions over the protocol.
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