Kemi’s Mexican fiesta, celebrating Brexit Britain’s growing exports

The UK is the second-largest exporter of services in the world, after the US

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2023

And for goods, exports to Mexico are up by 30% since exiting the EU

On Friday International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch was in Mexico and was clearly in a positive mood. During her visit she welcomed new trade figures from the ONS that day, showing UK services exports worldwide had reached record highs last year, adding that they “cement the UK’s position as a global services superpower”.

Ms Badenoch was in Mexico to progress the trade talks on a new and improved free trade deal with that country. This will cover both services and goods. At the same time she was also there to promote the UK’s accession to the CPTPP – a massive trading bloc covering a significantly larger number of people than live in the EU. Mexico is a leading member of the CPTPP.

Today’s Brexit Facts4EU.Org report looks at the UK’s growing goods trade with Mexico, as well as at the state of the UK’s goods and services trade more generally.

The EU's hostile behaviour towards the British

Firstly, a reminder of how the EU set out to ruin Brexit and damage the UK’s economy

After the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, the EU deliberately and cynically banned the UK from starting any trade talks with other countries in order to have deals in place ready to enter into force on the date of the UK’s departure. Sadly, the weak Remainer government of Theresa May acquiesced to this demand.

Because the Brexit negotiations with the EU dragged on for years and – because the UK didn’t finally leave the EU’s Customs Union until four-and-a half-years after the Referendum – UK international trade is a long way behind where it could have been by now.

This was caused by the EU itself and by the anti-democratic actions of all the Remainer MPs and Lords in Parliament. It was NOT the fault of Brexit, which of course sought to extricate the country from this malevolent rule from a foreign power.

It must also be remembered that the Covid pandemic prevented the face-to-face meetings so important in trade talks, and that international trade by all countries worldwide dropped dramatically.

1. Mexico – Brexit Britain’s fast-growing goods exports

Next we turn to the UK’s goods trade with Mexico. We don’t yet have the latest figures for services exports to Mexico, but the figures for goods exports were released on Friday. The UK’s goods exports to that country last year (2022) grew to to £1.4bn. This is a 29.9% increase on 2020.

Photo right: Kemi Badenoch meeting Mexican Trade Secretary Raquel Buenrostro, 10 Feb 2023. Credit: Mexican government.

Most of this increase followed Great Britain’s exit from the EU’s Customs Union on 01 January 2021. Between 2021 and 2022, goods exports to Mexico rose by 24.2%.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

UK's goods exports to Mexico

The UK signed a trade agreement with Mexico which did not come into force until 01 June 2021. This happened because the UK had been forced by the EU to try to negotiate its own ‘continuity’ trade deals in a matter of months.

This agreement is now being re-negotiated and improved and is expected to drive British exports to Mexico still higher, as well as reducing the price of Mexican goods arriving in the UK.

2021 Q1 : £262
2021 Q2 : £307m
2021 Q3 : £252m
2021 Q4 : £306m
2022 Q1 : £324m
2022 Q2 : £333m
2022 Q3 : £368m
2022 Q4 : £375m

[Source: Latest Office for National Statistics international trade report, Feb 2023, at current prices.]

2. Why Mexico? And why the CPTPP?

Kemi Badenoch took her two-day trip to Mexico because the proposed ‘Mexico 2.0’ deal could transform the UK’s relationship with the world’s 16th biggest economy and open up one of the world’s largest consumer markets – with a population projected to reach nearly 150 million by 2035. That’s double the size of the UK.

The International Trade Secretary was also in Mexico to advance the UK’s proposed membership of the CPTPP. The ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership’ (CPTPP) is looking very promising. The CPTPP is an 11-country Indo-Pacific trading bloc worth a combined £9 trillion in GDP, with Mexico a founding member.

The UK is nearing the final stages of talks to join this trade bloc, made up of some of the world’s biggest current and future economies. Joining could give UK businesses tariff-free access on over 99% of goods to a market of around 500 million customers. The EU is nowhere near joining the CPTPP.

3. Brexit Britain is a global force when it comes to services exports

Finally, services. The UK is the second largest services exporter in the world - behind only the US - and the services sector contributes around 80% of the UK’s GDP. Friday’s results show the UK is contributing to a growing global sector, with service sectors across the world expected to account for 28% of global trade by 2030 - up from 25% in 2019.

The trade data released by the Office for National Statistics on Friday (10 Feb 2023) shows that UK services exports reached record highs in 2022, totalling £397 billion at current prices. It means an increase of 20% compared to 2021, and up 23% on exports in 2018.

Observations

It will be obvious to readers that international trade behaves in a way something akin to an oil tanker. It takes a long time to change course and to build up speed. Progress for Brexit Britain has to be seen in this context.

In addition there is the background of the EU’s iniquitous and hostile behaviour to the UK over many years, which breaks all of its own Treaty obligations in terms of the way it is supposed to deal with its neighbours.

Given all of this it is almost unbelievable that Brexit Facts4EU.Org is able to bring the succession of positive reports which we research and publish daily. Nevertheless this is the case. The UK is a resilient and inventive nation.

Given half a chance we are also an entrepreneurial and wealth-generating nation. If the current government would reverse its huge tax rises this would encourage further growth. For Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to be raising Corporation Tax by 32% can only be described as an act of grotesque folly, just at the time we require the economy to grow.

The Government’s over-reaction to the Covid crisis has caused an almost unimaginable debt to be incurred and has driven half a million people to leave the labour force for good, with millions more continuing to “work from home”.

The way to deal with the debt is to slash the size of the state to reduce costs dramatically, encourage people back to work, incentivise business to invest, and most definitely not to kill the geese laying the golden eggs.

We must get reports like this out there

Reports like the one above take far longer to research, write and produce than many people realise. If they were easy, readers would see other organisations also producing these daily.

However, there’s little point in the Facts4EU.Org team working long hours, seven days-a-week, if we lack the resources to promote them effectively – to the public, to MPs, and to the media. This is where you come in, dear reader.

Facts4EU.Org needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any payment goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to become members, to support this work. Could this be you, today? It's quick and easy, we give you a choice of two highly secure payment providers, and we do NOT ask you for further support if you pay once. We just hope you keep supporting us. Your membership stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

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[ Sources: Dept for International Trade | Office for National Statistics ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sun 12 Feb 2023

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Reader Comments 16

1. Sparky , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 07:45:

Good to hear some positive news.
But hold on is this spin again? ONS report on GDP states that the service sector fell by 0.8% in Dec and was main contributor to flat GDP.
Re EU's hostile behaviour, they were always in the stronger position, we never held all the cards, UK were overoptimistic and naive going into negotiations. Art16 stated that negations couldn't start before triggering notice to leave.

2. Buster , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 07:46:

Brexit is not the fault of Brexit! LOL.
Honestly - your Brexit clown leaves you writing about Mexico.
Meanwhile we learn of a secret meeting to fix Brexit.
You can’t fix stupid. Brexit is being undone. Thank God.

3. Sparky , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 07:58:

Interesting, and in my view positive at last, meeting being reported by LBC, Observer and others, about a secret summit for Remain and Leave supporters to discuss Brexit including Gove.
One person who attended told the newspaper: “The main thrust of it was that Britain is losing out, that Brexit it not delivering, our economy is in a weak position.
“It was about moving on from leave and remain, and what are the issues we now have to face, and how can we get into the best position in order to have a conversation with the EU about changes to the UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement when that happens?”

4. Gazzablack , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 08:52:

1, More bluster from Buster
.
2. More bluster from Buster
.
3. Yet .more bluster from Buster

5. Ashley Great Britain , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 08:59:

1 sparky.
Morning. Its art50 not 16.
These "not so secret" talks could actually be the opposite of what you and Buster may think.
Isn't it possible that they will be saying between them, we can't and won't reverse Brexit.
We haven't been doing enough to advance the UK with our new freedom's.
Instead of just fighting between us we must face it, we must work together and drag the country out of the swamp. Let's accelerate trade and cut more EU red tape.
Let's get rid of EU laws and enhance our own to benefit the UK.
The remainer/rejoiners in parliament can now see the light and are willing to listen and work with others to complete Brexit.
If this is the case, As is most likely, maybe you should take a leaf out of their book.-
We did hold all the cards!
We should have said to the EU that we are ready for talks but in the mean time we are going full steam ahead with our own trade deals, Our own laws and regulations, And extricating ourselves from the EU.
What we had was an extremely weak treacherous government bending over backwards for the EU and a whole host of malicious mp's and British officials trying to sabotage our Eu exit.
Utter shame on them.

6. John Hardman , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 09:56:

Buster
[Deleted for bad language]

7. Sparky , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 10:00:

5 AGB
Morning, thanks for the correction.
Reversing Brexit can't be undone, we shouldn't have done it but it has been done, we should be moving toward mitigating the damage.
Re EU laws, these are our laws, written when we were part of the EU. Problem was that the UK Govt Gold Plated EU directives. Im not a smoker and don't like smoking but look at the smoking laws, banned in UK, go elsewhere in EU smoking is much more relaxed. Our politicians conveniently blamed EU which led to resentment and now self inflicted and unnecessary economic damage.
It's time for more pragmatic honest politicians who need to be straight with the electorate and find solutions to the mess Brexit has left. Can't see those politicians yet but maybe they will surface.

8. The Brexit Facts4EU.Org team , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 11:03:

May we respectfully remind readers to keep their comments on-topic, i.e. regarding the contents of the report.

9. Ashley Great Britain , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 14:16:

It's great that we are now trading more around the world.
Mexico has oodles to offer, some of the best meat and veg produce in the world.
I love seeing more and more items in the shops from places like Guatemala,Mexico, Peru. No more relient on lesser quality EU produce.
I look forward to more expansion and involvement with countries around the world.

10. Buster , Sunday, February 12, 2023, 14:40:

[DELETED FOR FOUL LANGUAGE]

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