London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

UK exports to Europe fall 41% as Brexit hits trade

UK exports to Europe fall 41% as Brexit hits trade

Britain's exports to Europe collapsed in January as companies grappled with new terms of trade following Brexit.

The United Kingdom exported goods worth £8.1 billion ($11.3 billion) to the European Union in its first month completely outside the bloc, a 41% decline compared to December, according to the Office for National Statistics. The drop off in trade is similar when compared to January 2020, ONS data shows.

Imports from the bloc tumbled 29% to £16.2 billion ($22.6 billion) in January compared with the previous month, when UK companies stockpiled goods ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period. The import and export figures do not include trade in gold and other precious metals.

The plunge in activity with its biggest trading partner led to the largest monthly declines in Britain's overall goods imports and exports since 1997, the ONS said.

"The January data on UK trade paint a clear picture: while the free trade agreement for goods that the UK and EU signed late last year has mostly brought an end to four and a half years of uncertainty, it does not hold a candle to free trade without paperwork and other non-tariff barriers that the UK once enjoyed as part of the single market," said Kallum Pickering, a senior economist at Berenberg.

Since the United Kingdom completed its departure from the European Union on December 31, British exporters have had to contend with new border checks and customs processes that have delayed shipments to Europe. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's description of the difficulties as "teething problems" has prompted pushback from business groups.

"External evidence suggests some of the slower trade for goods in early January 2021 could be attributable to disruption caused by the end of the transition period," the ONS said in a statement on Friday. Importing and exporting began to increase towards the end of the month, it added.

The ONS said that trade has "not been typical in recent months" and urged caution when comparing the report to recent data. The United Kingdom also went into a new national coronavirus lockdown at the beginning of January, which has weighed on economic activity.

UK GDP fell 2.9% in January compared with the previous month, when it expanded, according to the ONS. GDP was 9% below levels seen last February, before the coronavirus hit. The services sector acted as the main drag on growth, while manufacturing suffered its first contraction since April 2020, the ONS said.

Brexit knocks fish, cars


One stark example of what Brexit has meant for UK companies has come from Scotland's fishing industry, which was thrown into crisis by post-Brexit red tape that meant fresh fish couldn't reach customers on time and had to be dumped in some cases.

"While the plunges in exports and imports weren't entirely due to Brexit, they increase the chances that Brexit will have a longer lasting influence on trade flows," said Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics.

According to the ONS, exports of food and live animals including seafood to the European Union decreased by nearly 64% in January compared to the previous month.

Trade in cars also fell sharply, linked to a fall in demand, reduced manufacturing and global supply chain issues. Automakers have been hit by a critical shortage of computer chips, which has prompted temporary production stoppages and factory closures.

Pharmaceutical products traded with EU countries suffered the largest overall declines in imports and exports, which was likely a consequence of stockpiling in preparation for Brexit, the ONS said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×