SMALL UK FIRMS DIVERT £10BN IN EXPORTS AWAY FROM EU

BRITISH companies are moving £10billion in exports away from the EU as concerns mount over a possible collapse in Brexit trade talks, experts have said.

Small UK firms are switching exports to the Commonwealth and other developing nations as fears grow that negotiations could end in December without a trade deal, researchers said.

Jumping

Some companies are “jumping before they’re pushed” by diverting as much as 46 per cent of new exports from EU to non-EU markets since the referendum of 2016. For small firms this figure was 19 per cent which came to around £10.45billion per year, the research team added.

A new round of trade negotiations between the UK and the 27-member bloc resume today, following fractious comments on both sides in recent weeks.

It comes as research from Aston University gave the first direct evidence that UK companies are actively switching exports from EU markets to the Commonwealth, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other developed economies. This had important implications for the UK’s future prosperity which should influence how the Government supports smaller exporting firms – particularly as the economic fallout of the Covid-19 crisis becomes clearer, experts said.

Outcome

Jun Du, professor of Economics at Aston Business School, said: “This suggests UK exporters are jumping before they’re pushed – finding alternative markets worldwide even before we know the outcome of the trade negotiations and any potential new barriers.”