Brexit: 33% fall in UK businesses exporting to EU as Brexit red tape bites
The number of UK businesses exporting goods to the EU fell 33% to 18,357 in 2021*, from 27,321 in 2020 shows data out from HMRC.
Michelle Dale, senior manager at national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young, says the fall is due to the extra red tape UK businesses must now comply with when exporting to the EU.
Michelle Dale says: “These are really worrying numbers and show the scale of the difficulties UK businesses now face in exporting their products to the EU.”
“Businesses are not getting enough support from the government to navigate the post-Brexit trading minefield. A lot of SMEs can’t afford professional advice to cope with Brexit-related red tape. Many are likely to have decided trading with the EU is not worth the cost.”
“Fewer UK companies exporting to the EU will result in lost opportunities for growth and expansion in Europe.”
*Year ending 31 December
