Trade figures show the new UK government has lots of work to do on growth
The new labour government has committed to kickstarting the UK’s economic growth, but trade figures released yesterday by HMRC show there is a long way to go, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Simon Sutcliffe, Customs & Excise Duty partner at the firm, said: “Trade statistics for 2023, published by HMRC yesterday, show that the UK remains a predominantly service-based economy in international trade, with imports and exports of services dwarfing the movement of goods. The total value of exported services in 2023 stood at £187bn whereas imports of services were £423bn.”
He added: “In some notable industries the exports by sector type exceed imports in value. Importantly, the main industries where imports exceed exports are agriculture and food and the oil, energy and petroleum sector. This may feed opposition claims that the UK remains food and energy insecure.”
Simon said: “Although making sure the agriculture and food and the oil, energy and petroleum sector import rates decrease is important politically and economically, the services sectors remain important to delivering economic growth. Hopefully the government will give sufficient focus in future trade deals to matters affecting this part of the economy, such as regulatory frameworks, common standards and access to talent and skills.”
He added: “The US and China, aside from the EU bloc countries, remain the UK’s largest individual trading partners, with the US being the largest export market at £57.7 bn and import market at £63.3bn for goods and services. The US is closely followed by China with an export value at £27.3 bn and imports at £62.2bn. This puts renewed pressure on the prime minister over how he handles the incoming Donald Trump administration and its outward trade policy.”
Simon said: “The EU exports to the UK are valued at £189.1bn, whereas imports are valued at £326bn. This is one of the largest trade imbalances in the report and perhaps indicates the struggle that UK businesses whose sole overseas marketplace prior has been the EU have struggled post Brexit to deal with the new administrative and customs burdens that have impacted how and with whom they do business in the EU.”
