Britain’s trade with the EU suffered a record drop at the start of this year after customs controls were introduced at the borders in January according to post Brexit trade statistics this month.
The ONS reported that in the month after the Brexit transition period ended the export of UK goods to the EU fell by 40.7 per cent. Imports also declined by 28.8 per cent.
If this trend were to continue it would be a massive blow to the UK economy. The impact to supply chains in the longer term are as yet unclear, but there is definite disquiet amongst UK firms doing business with the EU.
A failure by the UK government to recruit adequate numbers of new customs agents to deal with the new regulations, also seems to be part of the problem. Expect more Brexit fall-out throughout the rest of this year.
