English
Trade between Britain and the European Union is in sharp decline in the first month of the implementation of the new relations
Trade between Britain and the European Union witnessed a sharp decline in the first month of the application of the new relations between the two parties after Britain's withdrawal from the bloc (Brexit), amid record drops in British exports and imports of goods in light of the continuing restrictions to combat Covid-19 on both sides.
The Office for National Statistics said today that British goods exports to the European Union, excluding non-monetary gold and other precious metals, fell 40.7% in January compared to December, and imports decreased 28.8%, another record.
The Office for National Statistics stated that the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the imposition of general isolation measures in Britain in January, made it difficult to determine the impact of leaving the Union and the subsequent application of new customs arrangements, and the method of data collection also changed.
But there were still indications that the split was having a negative effect.
The office added that trade in chemicals in particular had been weakened, reflecting the fading effect of demanding storage of pharmaceutical products before the end of the transitional exit period.
In a separate business survey, the office said trade had begun to recover towards the end of that month.
On Thursday, Britain postponed the application of a number of import checks after leaving the bloc on goods coming from the European Union by about six months and said that companies need more time to prepare for this due to the impact of the pandemic.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his country's new independent trade policy means it can focus on deals with the fastest growing economies around the world. But many trade analysts doubt that such a push will be able to offset lost trade with the European Union.
