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ECO 343 CH 13

The United Kingdom represents the 6th largest GDP globally and is an important global trader, ranking 13th in exports and 7th in imports. The EU is the UK's main trading partner, with the US, Germany, Switzerland, and Netherlands also being major partners. In 2021, the UK imported goods like gold, cars, petroleum, and electronics, and exported those goods as well as platinum and aircraft parts. Brexit has caused ongoing trade issues for the UK, including stagnating exports and additional administrative burdens and border delays when trading with the EU. Exports to non-EU countries have also performed poorly following Brexit.

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37 views3 pages

ECO 343 CH 13

The United Kingdom represents the 6th largest GDP globally and is an important global trader, ranking 13th in exports and 7th in imports. The EU is the UK's main trading partner, with the US, Germany, Switzerland, and Netherlands also being major partners. In 2021, the UK imported goods like gold, cars, petroleum, and electronics, and exported those goods as well as platinum and aircraft parts. Brexit has caused ongoing trade issues for the UK, including stagnating exports and additional administrative burdens and border delays when trading with the EU. Exports to non-EU countries have also performed poorly following Brexit.

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alfie.hyett
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© © All Rights Reserved
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ECO 343 Ch 13

England
By: Alfie Hyett
1. What % of world trade to they represent?
In 2021, the United Kingdom held the 6th position globally in terms of GDP (US$), ranked 13th in
total exports, 7th in total imports, 29th in GDP per capita (current US$), and 11th in economic
complexity according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).
2. Who are their major trading partners?
The EU as a whole is the main trading partner of the United Kingdom. At a country level, the
UK mainly exports to the United States (12.7%), Germany (8.7%), Switzerland (8.4%), the
Netherlands (7.9%), Ireland (6.2%) and France (5.6%). Its main suppliers are China (13.2%),
Germany (11%), the United States (8.7%), the Netherlands (6%) and Norway (5.2%)
(Comtrade). In order to diversify its business partners, the UK signed trade deals and agreements
in principle with 71 countries and one with the EU.
3. What do they import/export?
In 2021, the country mainly imported gold, cars, petroleum products, telephones, data
processing machines and medicaments; and exported the same products as well as platinum and
parts of aircraft (Comtrade).
4. What current trade issues are they having?

As chart 1 shows, it looks to be the case that


the UK has missed out on a trade boom in
goods. As demand for goods, and particularly
durable goods, boomed during the pandemic
most countries have seen their exports rise.
The UK’s have plateaued after recovering
from the worst of the pandemic.
Exports from the UK to non-EU nations
have shown a poor performance. Although
Brexit had a notable effect on UK exports to
the EU initially, they largely rebounded to
their pre-Brexit levels by the end of 2021.
However, the aftermath of Brexit continues
to exert pressure on imports from the EU.

5. One current event regarding trade in that country


2016 saw the UK leave the European Union (EU) and decide to go off on its own path, this came
known to be Brexit and it is having many affects on trade still to this day. This change was
expected to have an impact on trade flows between the EU and the United Kingdom, but also on
migration flows, foreign direct investment, regulation, the financial sector, science and
education, and other areas of the UK economy. The United Kingdom faced prolonged and
intricate negotiations on its withdrawal from the EU deciding future trade arrangements. This
heightened uncertainty significantly impacted the country's exchange rate, leading to a decline in
investment, imports, and exports even before the formal exit from the EU. The UK's investment
growth had been sluggish before Brexit, contributing to stagnating productivity. The extended
period of uncertainty surrounding the EU-UK relationship post-Brexit further dampened
investment. Since January 2021, EU-UK trade operates under the EU-UK TCA, ensuring tariff-
free trade but introducing rule-of-origin requirements. This leads to additional administrative
burdens for companies, causing delays at borders due to customs and regulatory checks. The
implementation of the agreement differs, with EU countries applying full customs requirements
earlier than the UK, which delayed certain checks until 2022 and 2023. Overall, trade with the
EU has stagnated, Brexit along with COVID-19 has seen a struggle to the trade economy in the
2020’s however we are seeing a slow rise back to expected levels in the UK in the coming
future.
Sources:
https://oec.world/en/profile/country/gbr
https://santandertrade.com/en/portal/analyse-markets/united-kingdom/foreign-trade-in-
figures#:~:text=The%20United%20Kingdom%20is%20one,in%20the%20world%20(WTO).
https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/tax/articles/why-has-the-uk-missed-out-on-a-trade-
boom.html

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