Trade body finds ‘little improvement’ in ability of businesses to export to the bloc
Nine out of 10 UK exporting manufacturers are facing challenges trading with the EU nearly three years after the post-Brexit trade deal came into force, according to a survey of British manufacturers. Make UK, a trade body, said “little improvement” had been made since it conducted its first post-Brexit survey in mid-2021, with business still struggling with the effects of customs bureaucracy and logistics issues.
Make UK chief executive Stephen Phipson said British manufacturers had fought to reach other international markets but faced a “minefield of challenges” when dealing with the country’s largest trading partner. He urged the government to do more to assist trade. “What is needed is an exports council to deliver a joined-up policy to support trade which should be incorporated into the body delivering an overarching industrial strategy here in the UK,” he added.
British trade has struggled since the introduction of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement in January 2021, which removed the UK from the EU single market and significantly increased bureaucratic barriers to trade for exporters. However, the Make UK 2023 Trade Bulletin noted that the EU remained a vital market for the UK, with 74 per cent of companies surveyed still exporting to the bloc despite the new challenges. And while the monetary value of exports was up, driven by inflation, volumes of exports in 2022 were still below pre-Brexit levels.
The survey found that a higher proportion, 40 per cent, of surveyed manufacturers reported that export volumes to the EU were falling, compared with about one-third who said they were rising. ...
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