Trade figures show the new UK government has lots of work to do on growth

Simon Sutcliffe, Customs & Excise Duty Partner said:

Trade statistics for 2023, published by HMRC yesterday, show that the UK remains a predominantly service-based economy in international trade, with imports and exports of services dwarfing the movement of goods. The total value of exported services in 2023 stood at £187 billion whereas imports of services were £423 billion.

In some notable industries the exports by sector type exceed imports in value. Importantly, the main industries where imports exceed exports are agriculture and food and the oil, energy and petroleum sector. This may feed opposition claims that the UK remains food and energy insecure.

Although making sure the agriculture and food and the oil, energy and petroleum sector import rates decrease is important politically and economically, the services sectors remain important to delivering economic growth. Hopefully the Government will give sufficient focus in future trade deals to matters affecting this part of the economy, such as regulatory frameworks, common standards and access to talent and skills.

The US and China, aside from the EU bloc countries, remain the UK’s largest individual trading partners, with the US being the largest export market at £57.7 bn and import market at £63.3 b for goods and services. The US is closely followed by China with an export value at £27.3 bn and imports at £62.2bn. This puts renewed pressure on the Prime Minister over how he handles the incoming Donald Trump administration and its outward trade policy.

The EU exports to the UK are valued at £189.1 bn, whereas imports are valued at £326bn. This is one of the largest trade imbalances in the report and perhaps indicates the struggle that UK businesses whose sole overseas marketplace prior has been the EU have struggled post Brexit to deal with the new administrative and customs burdens that have impacted how and with whom they do business in the EU.

Would you like to know more?

If you would like to discuss any of the above, please speak to your usual Blick Rothenberg contact or Simon Sutcliffe using the form below.