£5.2 billion tariff costs

European Union (EU) firms will face tariff costs of almost £13 billion a year on exports to the UK, while British companies will face a £5.2bn bill for sales to the other 27 states if Brexit means leaving the customs union without an alternative free trade deal, according to new analysis.

A report by the Civitas think tank indicated the importance of a deal to both sides in the Brexit negotiations and suggested Theresa May could use the balance of trade to her advantage in talks with the remaining 27 EU leaders.

On a country-by-country basis, 22 of the 27 remaining EU members would face more tariffs on exports to the UK than UK firms would be hit by on sales to those individual nations.