There were a lot of debates surrounding how things will be
after Brexit. Official figures that
were recently disclosed show that UK trade with the European Union has
drastically fallen since the end of the transition period.
According to ONS
figures, the total number of transactions, excluding precious metals, saw its largest
monthly fall since records began in January. It decreased by 19.3% which equals
to £5.3bn. What led to such a downfall? This was driven by a 40.7% (£5.6bn)
fall in exports to the EU in January and a 28.8% (£6.6bn) collapse in imports.
During the same time frame, exports to countries outside of the European Union
increased by 1.7% (£0.2bn).
This change follows the new UK/EU trade and cooperation
agreement which replaced the UK’s previous membership as a complete member
of the Union. The numbers also show that in the run up to January, when Brexit
terms were still unclear, there was an increase in imports and exports of goods
in November and December 2020. According to the ONS, this is “consistent with
potential stockpiling”.
Ever since the new free trade
agreement was established, retailers have had to set up more
processes and they have advanced that there are several additional costs
involved now.
Retailers have to go through additional expenses © Royalty-free image
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