British exports to the European Union fell by £300 million in August, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) UK Trade figures.
The economy unexpectedly shrank in the hight of summer as factories and consumer services firms struggled, putting the UK on track to contract overall in the third quarter.
Gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 0.3 per cent, down from growth of 0.1 per cent the previous month, which was downwardly revised from the 0.2 per cent previous estimation.
Economists had been expecting zero growth in August.
Commenting on the data, ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, says: “UK exports to the EU continued to tumble in August, down £300m. In contrast, exports were up by £700m (an increase of 4.1 per cent) to non-EU countries.
“Imagine the kind of export volumes the UK would now be achieving worldwide had Brexit negotiations not led to such disastrous new tariffs and red tape.
“Trade in this Brexit-less multiverse would be booming. Had our EU exports continued to increase at their pre-Brexit levels and our non-EU exports shown this month’s rise, UK plc would be soaring.”
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