How is Brexit going?
Well, according to the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, UK goods exports fell 14 per cent in the three months to January in comparison to the same time in 2020 pre-pandemic, the Financial Times has reported.
This was in stark contrast to the global average of an 8.2 per cent rise over the same period.
The data, which incorporates Office for National Statistics data for the UK, also showed that Britain compared poorly with the performance of all advanced countries where goods exports rose 5 per cent.
“While most other advanced economies have seen a strong recovery in trade, UK exports remain below pre-pandemic levels,” said Jonathan Portes, professor of economics at King’s College London.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has also warned that UK trade “lagged behind the domestic economic recovery” and had “missed out on much of the recovery in global trade . . . suggesting that Brexit may have been a factor”.
As a result, the UK had become a less trade-intensive economy, which was expected to knock out 4 per cent of its productivity over the next 15 years, it added.
The OBR noted that “none of the new free trade agreements or other regulatory changes announced so far would be sufficient” to have a material impact on its forecasts for UK trade.
It has estimated that leaving the EU would result in the total UK imports and exports being 15 per cent lower than if Britain had remained part of the EU.
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