In May 2025, approximately 18.5 percent of businesses in the UK reported that they had experienced challenges exporting due to change in exchange rates, with a further 15.1 percent facing challenges due regarding customs duties or levies.

This statistics displays the value of UK exports of goods and services to the European Union annually from 1999 to 2023. Over the time period under consideration, UK exports of goods and services to EU members states increased overall, despite some fluctuations. In 2023, UK exported approximately 357 billion British pounds worth of goods and services to the European Union.

Codes for: Exporters and shocks: impact of the Brexit vote shock on bilateral exports to the UK Ana P. Fernandes (University of Exeter) L. Alan Winters (University of Sussex, CEPR)

In the first quarter of 2025, the value of exports from the United Kingdom amounted to approximately 227 billion British pounds, while imports to the country amounted to around 238 billion pounds, resulting in a trade deficit of around 10.6 billion pounds in this quarter. During this time period, the value of UK exports was highest in the fourth quarter of 2022, with the value of imports peaking in the third quarter of 2022. The UK's main trade partners Despite the UK leaving the EU in 2020 following the Brexit referendum of 2016, Europe remains the main destination for UK exports, with almost half of UK exports heading there in 2023. During the same year, just over 60 percent of imports came from European countries, compared with around 17.9 percent from countries in Asia, and 11.8 percent from the Americas. In terms of individual countries, the United States was the UK's leading export partner for both goods and services from the UK, while Germany was the main source of UK goods imports, and the U.S. for service imports. It is as yet unclear how the return of Donald Trump to the White House will impact UK/US trade relations, should the President follow through with threats made on the campaign trail to increase trade tariffs. Brexit rethink under Starmer? Although generally more pro-European than the previous government, the new Labour government, led by Keir Starmer, does not plan to rejoin the European Union, or the Single Market. Public opinion, while gradually turning against Brexit recently, has not coalesced around a particular trading relationship. In late 2023, a survey indicated that while 31 percent of British adults wanted to rejoin the EU, a further 30 percent wanted to simply improve relations with the EU, instead of rejoining. Just 11 percent of respondents wanted to join the single market but not the EU, while 10 percent were happy with the relationship as it was. At the start of 2025, after several months in office, the new government has not signalled any major change in direction regarding on this, but has broadly signalled it wants a better relationship with the EU.

As of the first quarter of 2025, the value of goods exported to the European Union from the United Kingdom was over 42.1 billion British pounds, compared with around 76.7 billion pounds of goods imported, resulting in a negative goods trade balance with the EU of around approximately 34.6 billion pounds.

Since the first quarter of 2016, the total trade deficit of the UK has widened, most notably in the first half of 2022. As of the second quarter of 202 the UK's trade balance reached 19 billion British pounds.

  UK’s EU and non-EU trade   UK runs a trade deficit with the EU, but this is not the case regarding trade with countries outside the European Union. Since 2012, the value of UK goods exported to non-EU countries has persistenly been greater than imports made from these countries, resulting in a healthy trade surplus.

  International UK trade after Brexit   Following the Brexit referendum of 2016,the UK government has sought to renew a number of trade agreements that come automatically with EU membership, such as Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA).

We analyse the effects of uncertainty and anticipation shocks associated with the 2016 Brexit vote as a treatment on trade between the UK and 14 EU and 14 non-EU trading partners, using the synthetic control method (SCM). After controlling for exchange rate and GDP changes, UK exports to both groups of countries fell below those of the synthetic Britain, with much of the shortfall developing over the year prior to the referendum, following the 2015 Conservative general election win. The results indicate that UK exports to EU countries may have lost nearly 25% by early 2018, due to the Brexit shock, somewhat more than those to non-EU countries. Imports from the EU and non-EU countries also declined a little, although there is tentative evidence that UK consumers may have been avoiding countries with preferential trade agreements (PTAs) with the EU, and possibly turning towards the Commonwealth. Overall, the results confirm that policy uncertainty has a major effect upon trade and that uncertainty about supply chain costs is a potential explanation for at least some of the shortfall.

Data on medicine imports and exports between the UK and the rest of the EU, and non-EU trade partners, January 2016 - June 2019

We estimate the impact of increased policy uncertainty from Brexit on UK trade inservices. We apply an uncertainty-augmented gravity equation to UK services tradewith the European Union at the industry level from 2016Q1 to 2018Q4. By exploitingthe variation in the probability of Brexit from prediction markets interacted with anew trade policy risk measure across service industries we identify a significant negativeimpact of the threat of Brexit on trade values and participation. The increasedprobability of Brexit in this period lowered services exports by at least 20 log points.

According to a study published in May 2025, the impact of British luxury exports to the EU went down by ** percent over all in 2022, compared to 2019 figures. The export of luxury fashion and accessories experienced the sharpest drop by a ** percent reduction.

In May 2024, approximately 14.2 percent of businesses in the UK reported that they had experienced challenges exporting due to customs duties and levies, with a further 12.6 percent facing challenges due to transport costs.

We examine how the looming threat of tariff hikes under a trade agreement renegotiation impacts firm entry into a trading partner's market by exploiting uncertainty over the future UK-EU trade relationship brought about by the June 2016 Brexit referendum. Using the universe of UK export transactions at the firm and product level, we find that uncertainty over future market access to the EU deterred entry modestly in the months immediately after the Brexit vote, but the deterrent effect increased over time.

International trade is one of the most pressing topics on the UK’s Brexit checklist. With no definitive EU deal in immediate sight, it is not just the UK-EU trade that is at stake, but also the continuity of a number of trade agreements with third countries that take effect automatically with EU membership. It is fair to say that this uncertainty surrounding the UK’s international trade will not help the fluctuations experienced in the UK’s goods export as displayed in this statistic.

UK exports in and outside the EU

Since 2008, the UK ships more goods to non-EU countries than EU27. Nevertheless, even with its shrinking share in UK exports, the EU market accounts for the largest proportion of UK trade. This becomes more apparent when we look at the UK’s export trade partners as individual countries.

Trade balance swings

The UK is among the top exporting economies in the world, yet the country’s trade balance seems to be widening. In the first quarter of 2019, the UK’s trade deficit was the largest since 2016. This was down to increasing import activity, as export of trade goods still continued to improve over this period of time.

The leading food or drink product exported from the UK in 2023 was whiskey by far. The export value of whiskey reached 5.8 billion British pounds that year. In comparison, milk, cream, and chocolate, the second and third most exported products, only reached about 987 and 859 million British pounds in export value, respectively. Scottish whisky Whisky has been distilled in Scotland for many years and is the origin of all Scotch whisky, so it is no surprise that whisky is a top export from the UK. The Scottish whisky brand, Johnnie Walker, sold 19.2 million 9-liter cases of whisky in 2021. It is the fifth most sold whisky worldwide and it is among the top ten most popular spirit brands worldwide as well. UK trade within Europe Despite the impact of Brexit, the UK and the rest of Europe remain important trade partners to one another. After a sharp drop in exports in January 2021, exports of goods from the UK have begun to recover and even exceeded pre-Brexit levels. Ireland, France, and the Netherlands are the leading destinations for food and drink exports from the UK as of 2021. Exports to Ireland reached three billion British pounds.

In May 2025, approximately 18.4 percent of businesses in the UK reported that they had experienced challenges importing due to additional paperwork, with 16 percent reporting changes in exchange rates posing a challenge.

Cars were the most valuable type of commodity exported from the United Kingdom in 2024, with exports of this commodity valued at approximately 32.9 billion British pounds. Mechanical power generators were the second-most valuable commodity in 2024, with an export value of around 32.7 billion pounds in this year. By comparison, the most valuable import commodity was also cars, amounting to over 38.4 billion British pounds. The next most valuable import commodity was medicinal and pharmaceutical products at over 27.2 million pounds in this year. UK main trading partners Although the share of both imports and exports from the European Union has been declining recently, the single market is still by far the UK's main trading partner. In terms of individual countries, the United States was the main export partner in 2024 at 16.1 percent of all exports, while Germany was the UK's main import partner with 12.5 percent of imports coming from there in 2024. A main argument of the Leave vote, was that the UK should seek to improve up its trade with the rest of the world, outside of Europe. The success of this 'Global Britain' strategy, depends on the UK significantly scaling up its trade with other continents, with countries outside of Europe still responsible for far less trade than European ones. Brexit and EU trade At the start of 2021, the United Kingdom exited both the European Single Market and the European Customs Union, with the UK's trading relationship with the EU now determined by a new Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). Although the TCA continued tariff and quota-free goods trade between the EU and UK, a number of customs checks came into force, increasing trade friction between the two parties. The status of Northern Ireland in the initial agreement was also different from the rest of the UK. Goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain were initially subject to customs checks, to prevent customs checks occurring at the border with the Republic of Ireland. In February 2023, it was announced that under a new EU-UK agreement called the Windsor Framework, some goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain will be subject to fewer checks.

Alternative estimated effect of Brexit on exported value added.

This study focuses on the diversity of merchandise and commercial services exports by destination. Export diversity is important to hedge against the risk of an economic downturn in partner economies, but it also helps to protect against the threat of trade protectionism. Protectionism is materializing across the world, not only through the United States imposing tariffs on imports of Canadian metal, but also in other events such as Brexit.

Estimated effect of Brexit on exported value added.

The European customs brokerage market, valued at €27.22 billion in 2025, is projected to experience robust growth, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.81% from 2025 to 2033. This expansion is driven by several key factors. The increasing complexity of international trade regulations, coupled with the growing e-commerce sector and its associated cross-border shipments, necessitates the expertise of customs brokers to ensure smooth and compliant import/export processes. Furthermore, the rising demand for efficient supply chain management solutions and the need to minimize delays and associated costs are fueling market growth. The diverse range of services offered by customs brokers, including customs clearance, documentation preparation, and compliance advisory, caters to a wide spectrum of businesses, from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to large multinational corporations. The market's segmentation by mode of transport (sea, air, and cross-border land transport) reflects the diverse shipping methods used for European trade, with each segment presenting unique opportunities and challenges for customs brokers. Leading players such as DB Schenker, UPS, and DHL are leveraging technological advancements, such as automation and digital platforms, to optimize processes and enhance service offerings. The geographical distribution of the market across major European economies like Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Italy reveals varying levels of market maturity and growth potential. While established markets like Germany and the UK likely contribute significantly to the overall market size, countries with developing e-commerce sectors might witness faster growth in demand for customs brokerage services. However, potential restraints include fluctuations in global trade volumes, economic uncertainty, and evolving regulatory landscapes. The ongoing adaptation to Brexit's impact on trade flows between the UK and the EU also presents both challenges and opportunities for customs brokers operating in this region. Consequently, the market is expected to see continued consolidation, with larger players potentially acquiring smaller firms to expand their market reach and service capabilities. European Customs Brokers Market Report: 2019-2033 This comprehensive report provides a detailed analysis of the European Customs Brokers market, offering invaluable insights for businesses operating within this dynamic sector. The study covers the period 2019-2033, with a focus on the forecast period 2025-2033 and a base year of 2025. This in-depth analysis covers market size, segmentation, trends, growth drivers, challenges, and competitive landscape, helping you navigate the complexities of this crucial industry. The market is projected to reach XXX million by 2033. Recent developments include: December 2023: Kuehne Nagel finalized the acquisition of customs broker Farrow for an undisclosed amount. This strategic move is set to strengthen the company's customs capabilities within the North American market, with a particular focus on improving operations at the US-Canadian and Mexican borders. The transaction is anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of 2024., October 2023: Rock-It Freight Forwarding and Logistics, specializing in the live event, entertainment, sports, and broadcast industry, has successfully acquired customs broker Dell Will. This acquisition is part of Rock-It's strategic plan to accelerate growth in the motorsports sector.. Key drivers for this market are: Increasing international trade, Complex custom regulations. Potential restraints include: Regulatory Challenges, Geopolitical Uncertainity. Notable trends are: Germany Driving the Growth of the Market.