UK-EU monthly exports again above pre-Brexit 2020 levels
The UK’s monthly exports to the EU were above 2020 levels for the second straight month in June, despite earlier concerns about Brexit disruption.
UK exports to the EU increased by £14.3bn and imports increased by £19.1bn in June, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Total export of goods in June fell by 2.2 per cent thanks to a 5.6 per cent drop in exports to non-EU countries.
British exports to the EU contracted sharply in January, after the UK left the bloc’s single market and customs union.
Exporters were blighted with a whole new range of paperwork and customs bureaucracy to deal with, leaving many to consider if it was worthwhile to continue trading with the EU.
However, trade figures have since rebounded as businesses get used to the post-Brexit red tape.
The new trade figures come as the Office for National Statistics revealed today that the UK economy grew 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of this year.
The rise in output means GDP is now 4.4 per cent below where it was in the last quarter of 2019, before the onset of Covid in the UK.