For 10 years.. UK exports the worst of the G7 countries
The UK's trade and cooperation agreement with the EU after years of wrangling is under review in 2024.
Shrouq
Britain has had the worst export record of any G7 member besides Japan over the past decade.
According to a new analysis, pressure will increase on the government to reconsider its post-Brexit trade deal.
The seven economies
As most of the world's other seven major economies have recovered from the pandemic, export growth has remained sluggish in the UK at a time when businesses doing business with the EU have faced extra measures and costs as a result of the country leaving the bloc.
813£ billion in exports
Figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) show that UK exports of goods and services reached £813 billion in 2012, rising just 6% to reach £862.6 billion by 2021.
That compares with the double-digit increases enjoyed by Canada (10.2%), France (16.1%), Germany (22.7%), Italy (15.9%) and the United States (13.8%). The 27 member states of the European Union as a whole enjoyed a 29.1% increase in the value of their exports in the same period.
UK exports
The value of UK exports in 2019, before the pandemic, was £881.6bn, about £20bn higher than the figure published in 2021, according to an analysis of UNCTAD figures provided by the House of Commons Library.
Only Japan, which has been particularly exposed to lower demand from China as it becomes increasingly self-sufficient in commodities such as cars, auto parts and steel, fares worse than the UK, with the value of trade rising by just 0.5%. % from £912.2 billion in 2012 to £917.5 billion in 2021.
The UK's trade and cooperation agreement with the EU after years of wrangling is under review in 2024. Labor leader Keir Starmer said the government he leads would seek better trade terms, though he limited the scope of any changes by Excluding a return to the single market or negotiating a new customs union.
Britain's exit from the European Union
There have been repeated complaints from business leaders about a range of post-Brexit obstacles to trade with the EU and the lack of effort by the UK government in seeking to address them.
Recently, three of the world's biggest automakers, Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover and Ford, told the government it needed to renegotiate with the European Union a change to post-Brexit rules set for next year that they say threaten electric car production in Europe United Kingdom.
In its latest forecast, the Office for Budget Responsibility said it expects continued weakness in overall UK trade over the next two years, with export volumes expected to decline by 6.6% in 2023 and by 0.3% in 2024.
Shadow Trade Secretary Gareth Thomas said the disappointing growth in exports over the past decade was a direct result of additional burdens on companies exporting to Europe, which remains the country's largest market.
He said: “In the past decade the Conservative Party has failed to meet key trade targets, cutting support for companies wanting to win new export contracts and making it more difficult to trade with key allies.
