U.K. trade balance for 2023 was -18.71 billion US dollars, a 65.58% decline from 2022.

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<li>U.K. trade balance for 2022 was <strong>-54.38 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>672.31% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>U.K. trade balance for 2021 was <strong>-7.04 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>146.75% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>U.K. trade balance for 2020 was <strong>15.06 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>137.85% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>External balance on goods and services (formerly resource balance) equals exports of goods and services minus imports of goods and services (previously nonfactor services). Data are in current U.S. dollars.

In 2022, United Kingdom's goods trade with EU27 countries resulted in a trade deficit with most of the countries in the union. UK had the largest deficit with Germany, with the balance standing at about -26.4 billion British pounds. Republic of Ireland was the leading country with which the UK had a surplus.

The United Kingdom recorded a trade deficit of 7026 GBP Million in April of 2025. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Balance of Trade - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In the first quarter of 2025, the United Kingdom had a trade deficit of 10.6 billion British pounds, due to a 59 billion pound deficit in goods trade offset by a 48 billion pound trade surplus in services.

The statistic shows the trade balance of goods (exports minus imports of goods) in the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2023. A positive value means a trade surplus, a negative trade balance means a trade deficit. In 2023, the trade deficit of goods in the United Kingdom amounted to about 270.48 billion U.S. dollars. On the effects of Brexit on the UK's economy The United Kingdom has maintained a trade deficit over the last ten years, but now that the country has chosen to leave the European Union, current trade agreements will need to be renegotiated and trade relationships and the trade balance will change. As of 2015, one of the UK’s most important import and export partners was Germany, but it also trades heavily with many other countries within the European Union; more than half of total value of the UK trade in goods is associated with European Union countries. Trade agreements which have been negotiated by the European Union extend beyond member countries, and the United Kingdom will now have to renegotiate its own trade deals with a far larger number of countries by itself. It remains to be seen as to how the UK will manage these negotiations. Another big question is how the UK banking sector will be able to access the European market. As of 2014, services contributed close to 80 percent of UK GDP, which includes banking services. While it is too soon predict how BREXIT will impact the United Kingdom entirely, estimates of the decision’s long term effects estimate negative GDP growth of around 2.72 percent in an optimistic scenario, with the pessimistic scenario estimating negative growth of around 7.7 percent.

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.

United Kingdom Trade Balance: sa: BoP: Goods data was reported at -20,809.000 GBP mn in Feb 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of -18,219.000 GBP mn for Jan 2025. United Kingdom Trade Balance: sa: BoP: Goods data is updated monthly, averaging -8,276.000 GBP mn from Jan 1997 (Median) to Feb 2025, with 338 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -449.000 GBP mn in Jan 1997 and a record low of -23,545.000 GBP mn in Jan 2022. United Kingdom Trade Balance: sa: BoP: Goods data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.JA001: Trade Statistics: Current Prices: Seasonally Adjusted.

Monthly data on the UK's trade in goods and services, including trade inside and outside the EU. This replaces our previous dataset, UK trade: goods and services (up until July 2018).

Forecast: Aerospace Industry Trade Balance in the UK 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

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.

In each of the years from 2014 to 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) had a mineral trade deficit. The UK's largest mineral trade deficit during that timeframe was in 2022, when the trade deficit amounted to 63.3 billion British pounds.

The United Kingdom's total Exports in 2024 were valued at US$508.68 Billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. The United Kingdom's main export partners were: the United States, China and Germany. The top three export commodities were: Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers; Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins and Vehicles other than railway, tramway. Total Imports were valued at US$809.19 Billion. In 2024, The United Kingdom had a trade deficit of US$300.51 Billion.

Forecast: Bauxite Trade Balance in the UK 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The United Kingdom: Trade balance, billion USD: The latest value from 2023 is -18.84 billion U.S. dollars, an increase from -58.86 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 4.81 billion U.S. dollars, based on data from 148 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 1970 to 2023 is -19.53 billion U.S. dollars. The minimum value, -60 billion U.S. dollars, was reached in 2007 while the maximum of 14.66 billion U.S. dollars was recorded in 1981.

Estimated value of exports, imports and balance of trade from 2016 to 2022 for total trade, trade in goods and trade in services for International Territorial Levels (ITLs) 1, 2 and 3, and city regions. Includes EU and non-EU split along with data for top 20 partner countries. These are official statistics in development.

Ireland IE: Trade Balance: Services: United Kingdom data was reported at 16,755.000 EUR mn in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16,845.000 EUR mn for 2022. Ireland IE: Trade Balance: Services: United Kingdom data is updated yearly, averaging 11,879.000 EUR mn from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2023, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16,845.000 EUR mn in 2022 and a record low of 4,258.000 EUR mn in 2012. Ireland IE: Trade Balance: Services: United Kingdom data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.OECD.TISP: Trade in Services: Trade Balance: by Country: OECD Member: Annual.

Key information about EU's Trade Balance

• EU's Trade Balance recorded a surplus of 13.5 USD bn in Dec 2024, compared with a surplus of 10.8 USD bn in the previous month
• EU's Trade Balance data is updated monthly, available from Jan 2002 to Dec 2024, with an averaged value of 5.2 USD bn
• The data reached an all-time high of 31.0 USD bn in Dec 2020 and a record low of -57.1 USD bn in Aug 2022

• In the latest reports, EU's Total Exports reached 228.1 USD bn in Dec 2024, an increase of 1.8% YoY (year-on-year)
• Total Imports recorded 214.6 USD bn in Dec 2024, an increase of 1.8% YoY (year-on-year)

Japan JP: Trade Balance: Services: USD: United Kingdom data was reported at 1.061 USD bn in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.555 USD bn for 2022. Japan JP: Trade Balance: Services: USD: United Kingdom data is updated yearly, averaging 755.200 USD mn from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2023, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.042 USD bn in 2020 and a record low of -3.781 USD bn in 2014. Japan JP: Trade Balance: Services: USD: United Kingdom data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.OECD.TISP: Trade in Services: Trade Balance: USD: by Country: OECD Member: Annual.

Estimated value of exports, imports and balance of goods for 2022 for International Territorial Levels (ITLs) 1, 2 and 3, and city regions. Includes EU and non-EU split along with data for top 20 partner countries. These are official statistics in development.

The United Kingdom recorded a Current Account deficit of 21028 GBP Million in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Current Account - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.