Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
UK exports to the EU dropped by 40.7 per cent in January 2021, according to ONS figures.
This was the first month after the Brexit transition ended, with customs rules changing and firms contending with extra paperwork. The ONS added that imports were also down by 28.8 per cent (£6.6bn) in January.
> See also: How Brexit is going to affect your business – #2 exports
Much of this is likely to be what the ONS calls ‘temporary factors’. These include concerns around the outcome of the Brexit deal as well predictions of a third lockdown towards the end of 2020. Stockpiling in anticipation of these events were likely to contribute to the fall.
However, there were no similar falls in Britain’s trade in non-EU countries, suggesting that Brexit has been a greater contributing factor.
Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said that Brexit was the most likely reason for doing less business with EU countries, but she foresees a recovery: “The longer term [Brexit] impact on supply chains will depend on how attractive the UK remains and the competition from other locations within the EU,” she said.
The scale of the drop in exports is beyond what most