Labour pledges to ‘tear down’ barriers after new figures reveal Brexit costing UK business £37bn a year
22/03/2025
Billions of pounds worth of lost business with other European Union countries prompts calls to re-enter customs union and single market.
Brexit red tape on British businesses has caused goods trade between the UK and EU to slump and the problem is getting worse, a study has warned.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) reduced total goods exports from the UK by an estimated £27bn (or 6.4 per cent) in 2022 – due to a 13.2 per cent fall in the value of goods exported to the EU, according to new research from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at LSE.
Food and Drink Federation say businesses are struggling to deal with added ‘complexity and bureaucracy’.
Brexit created ‘mind blowing’ 2bn extra pieces of paperwork - enough to wrap around world 15 times
19/03/2025
Brexit has created a “mind blowing” nearly two billion extra pieces of paperwork for businesses - enough to wrap around the world 15 times.
Five key impacts of Brexit five years on
31/01/2025
Brexit was hugely divisive, both politically and socially, dominating political debate and with arguments about its impacts raging for years. / Five years on from the day Britain formally left the EU, BBC Verify has examined five important ways Brexit has affected Britain.
Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.
A new report has been published revealing that the UK’s economy could be boosted by 2.2 per cent just by more deeply aligning with the EU.
As Donald Trump wields the threat of tariffs on EU and even UK goods, which industries would be worst affected and could the two trading partners develop closer ties?
It has been five years since Brexit “got done” – and voters and politicians alike are still counting the cost.
Brexit: despatches from the downside – No 30
12/04/2024
The stock exchange ‘going down the gurgler’, a ‘hammer blow’ to the food industry, married Britons punished, and some rare Brexit upsides
The UK’s goods trade is lagging far behind the rest of the G7, while services are booming.
An honest assessment of Brexit from Fareed Zakaria of CNN... "On virtually every measure, from business investment to exports to employment Britain is falling behind its peers."
Mr Drakeford, who is stepping down next month after five years as First Minister, said Brexit had left Wales a billion pounds worse off and cut off from the rest of the world.
Brexit: despatches from the downside – No 24
01/03/2024
In this week's Brexit downsides, extra food labelling costing up to £250mn, a huge drop in overseas students, veterinary shortages in NI, and more.
What does ‘Not for EU’ labelling mean? Concern post-Brexit food stickers will deter investment and exports
25/02/2024
The Food and Drink Federation said the 'Not for EU' labelling “poses significant risk to exports”, while polling has shown that Britons would be put off buying food with these stickers.
A new, post-Brexit trade row is looming for key U.K. industries but do ministers want to trigger fresh negotiations with Brussels? / Business groups representing U.K. energy and steel sectors are looking nervously at a potential financial cliff-edge, when additional export costs are introduced through the EU’s carbon border tax.
Almost one in five (18%) have said they are less likely to buy products labelled “Not for EU” which will be a requirement on all British meat and dairy produce from October 2024.
Food businesses sending products to the EU have had to fork out an extra £170m in export costs because of Brexit red tape, with the changes described as being “catastrophic” for some exporters. / Data shows costs have contributed to value of meat exports falling by 17% since 2019.
How has Brexit changed EU–UK trade flows?
01/01/2024
This paper estimates how Brexit has affected goods trade between the United Kingdom and European Union. Using product-level trade flows between the EU and all other countries in the world as a comparison group, we find a sharp decline in trade from the UK to the EU and significant but smaller reductions in trade from the EU to the UK.
Global Britain has failed – what next?
16/02/2024
The vision of post-Brexit Britain was one of international trade deals that would propel the country into a new era of prosperity. That vision of “Global Britain” is now dead. Thomas Sampson argues that the only viable alternative is a closer trade relationship with the EU.
Plaid Cymru’s Spokesperson for Trade and Business, Hywel Williams MP, has called for the UK to re-join the Single Market and Customs Union as “a vital first step to improving our moribund economy.”
Businesses that make sporting goods, children’s toys, jewellery and medical goods have struggled the most with the border costs imposed by the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
While the challenges of post-Brexit trade continue to impact businesses what will shape the culinary landscape of the North Highlands – and can the spirit of love endure?