UK Exports to EU Moving in the 'Right Direction' Despite Negative Brexit Impact

British exports to the EU are starting to recover from the dual shocks of Brexit and Covid, but not as quickly as we might have expected.

Paul McComb is the Department for International Trade (DIT) director of exports. This was the perspective he offered on a webinar today (6 October) hosted by the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) called 'How to reboot your exports to the EU'.

There has been an 11% increase in exports to the continent over the four quarters leading up to Q1 2022, according to McComb, as evidence of this increase.

Even so, trade between the UK and the EU is still far from where it was pre-Brexit, with 45% of delegates on the webinar stating that their exports to the EU have been negatively impacted. In a recent survey, a quarter of respondents said they were exporting at the same levels, while only 3% said they were exporting more.

In response to McComb's statement about the trajectory of UK trade, McComb said that "in overall trade we are definitely seeing a rise, and we are trending in the right direction, but maybe the pace of recovery is not quite as quick as we would have liked".

As part of his presentation, he explained how DIT and the wider government are increasing the support they provide to traders, including the Export Support Service (ESS).