Services exports reached a record £470bn in 2023, up seven per cent compared to the previous year adjusting for inflation.
The resilience of exports from the UK’s service sector has been a success story despite the feared impact of Brexit.
Services exports reached a record £470bn in 2023, up seven per cent compared to the previous year adjusting for inflation.
Figures out yesterday showed that the UK was the world’s fourth largest exporter in 2022, up from seventh position in 2021, with the improvement attributable to the strength of the country’s services sector.
In March, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) noted that around two thirds of the growth in services trade volumes since 2019 has been driven by ‘other business sectors’.
This catchy title includes some of the UK’s fastest growing sectors, such as consulting, accountancy and R&D. By contrast, exports of financial services and transport have lagged other sectors, declining 5.9 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively.
“The UK has real emerging strengths in travel and professional services – alongside other business services such as law, auditing and accounting,” William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce told City A.M.
Source: OBR
The OBR suggested a few points that could be behind the relative growth of business services. First, barriers to exporting to the EU in these sectors are likely to be lower than in more highly regulated services, such as banking.
So what’s behind the surge in service exports? And why hasn’t Brexit damaged the sector more?
more at CITY AM
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