Brexit

[admin]

First such accord after leaving EU was predicted to bring £15bn boost but UK now lags rivals The first major free trade agreement signed by Britain after Brexit has been branded a failure after new figures showed exports had fallen since it came into force. Liz Truss signed a “historic” deal with Japan as trade secretary in October 2020, describing it as a “landmark moment for Britain”. It was claimed it would boost trade by billions of pounds and help the UK recover from the pandemic. However, figures collated by the Department for International Trade show exports to Japan fell from £12.3bn to £11.9bn in the year to June 2022. Exports in goods fell 4.9% to £6.1bn and services fell 2% to £5.8bn. The decline is a significant setback for supporters of Brexit who claimed global trade with non-EU countries would help compensate for any losses from leaving the single market. One such deal, with Australia, was criticised earlier this month by the former environment secretary George Eustice, who said it was “not actually a very good deal for the UK”.

 Brexit blow: exports to Japan slump after ‘landmark’ free trade deal | Brexit | The Guardian