Exclusive: Global Britain’s non-EU trade deals now total over £240bn per year
71 non-EU countries now have trade agreements with the UK – ‘despite Brexit’
Montage © Facts4EU.Org
Facts4EU.Org and CIBUK.Org reveal the extent of Brexit Britain’s success in international trade
In today’s report Facts4EU.Org and CIBUK.Org can reveal just how well the UK has been doing in securing various forms of trade agreements around the world. Based on official ONS trade data we show that these 71 non-EU27 agreements now account for over £240bn of trade per year.
We are grateful to the Department for International Trade for assisting us with the information for this report.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
Trade agreements now in effect
98 countries and counting
- The UK government has agreed trade deals with 71 countries - plus the EU27
- Excluding the EU, trade with these countries was worth £240bn in 2021
- These non-EU27 trade agreements account for 63.2% of total UK trade
- UK trade with the 71 non-EU countries increased by 16.5% in 2021
- UK trade with the EU27 only grew 4.4% in the same period
[Source: Dept for International Trade, 23 Aug 2022.]
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2022 - click to enlarge
Commenting on this report, the Rt Hon David Jones MP told us:
“This research by Facts4EU.Org and CIBUK.Org completely debunks Remainers' downbeat predictions that, post-Brexit, the UK would struggle to find new trading partners and suffer a massive decline in trade.
"The report shows that, in fact, the reverse is true. Countries from right across the globe - from huge economies like Japan to micro-states such as Liechtenstein - have been keen to forge deals with Brexit Britain. What's more, trade with non-EU countries has grown significantly faster than with the EU itself.
"Once again, the British people's decision to leave the European Union has been fully vindicated. Outside the EU, the United Kingdom can look forward to better, more profitable relations with dynamic trading nations from every part of the world."
The Rt Hon David Jones MP, former Brexit Minister, Vice Chairman of the ERG, 24 Aug 2022
The world seems to want to trade with Brexit Britain
As of 01 January 2021, EU trade agreements no longer applied to the UK. The Dept for International Trade (under Liz Truss at that time) had already been working on replacing these.
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2022 - click to enlarge
NOTE: The above list does not yet appear on the Government's official website. Our information is more up-to-date, based on our research with the Dept for International Trade yesterday.
Yesterday we published a report showing how the current Secretary of State for International Trade, the Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, has not only been working on more major trade deals, but has also been able to put in place a trading arrangement for 65 emerging economies.
The UK has sought to reproduce the effects of trading agreements that previously applied to it to ensure continuity for UK business. Today’s report summarises how well the UK has done.
Commenting on this report, the Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP told us:
“The government has been successful in securing new trade deals around the world.
"The growing shift of economic activity to Asia reinforces the need to have a global view and to negotiate the best possible access to the faster growing markets of the world."
The Rt Hon Sir John Redwood MP, former Single Market Minister, 24 Aug 2022
The UK also has a trade deal with the 27 EU countries - total 98
Adding the 27 EU countries to the list of 71 we have provided above takes the total to 98 countries.
In addition - and as we reported yesterday - the Department for International Trade has now agreed preferential trading terms with 65 emerging economies.
What next for the Dept for International Trade?
The government has ambitious plans to secure bilateral trade agreements with countries accounting for 80% of UK total trade within three years of having left the EU, including with some major partners.
This work includes those countries the Government sought continuity for under our previous EU trade agreements, as well as all other trade agreements to date that were outside the scope of the programme, such as the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Observations
It has to be said that for the years since the British public voted to leave the EU, there have been those who saw fit to ‘do the country down’, suggesting that the UK’s international trade would ‘fall off a cliff’.
When that didn’t happen, they sought to ridicule the idea that countries would want to sign trade deals with an independent Brexit Britain.
Our report today shows unequivocally that countries have been queueing up to do trade deals with the UK. Not only that but we have revealed exclusively how this trade was worth over £240bn last year, has grown by 16.5% since the previous year, and looks set to grow even more as time goes by.
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[ Sources: Dept for International Trade | ONS ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 24 Aug 2022
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