The UK government is committed to kick-starting the country’s economic growth, but recently released trade figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show a long journey ahead, according to leading auditing, tax, and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.
Simon Sutcliffe, Customs & Excise Duty Partner at the firm, commented: “The trade figures for 2023, published by HMRC yesterday, show that the UK remains a highly trade-based economy, with imports and exports of services making it difficult movement of goods. The total value of services exported in 2023 stood at £187 billion, while services exports were £423 billion. “
He added: “In some notable industries, exports by sector exceed imports. Importantly, the major industries where imports exceed exports are agriculture and food, as well as the oil, energy and petroleum sectors. This may give counter claims that the UK remains food and energy insecure. “
Sutcliffe continued: “While lowering import prices in the agriculture and food sectors, as well as oil, energy and petroleum is important politically and economically, the services sector remains important in delivering economic growth. I hope that the government will focus enough in future trade agreements on issues that affect this part of the economy, such as regulatory frameworks, common standards, and access to talent and skills. “
He stressed that the United States and China, outside the EU bloc, remain the UK’s main allies. “The US is the largest export market worth £57.7 billion and the import market is £63.3 billion worth of goods and services. The US is closely followed by China, with exports worth £27.3 billion and imports of £62.2 billion,” he said.
Sutcliffe noted that this situation is putting pressure on the Prime Minister about how to handle trade terms with these major economies.
He added: “EU exports to the UK are worth £189.1 billion, while imports are worth £326 billion. This is one of the biggest trade imbalances in the report and perhaps reflects the struggle that UK businesses, the only foreign market before Brexit was the EU, face post-Brexit in dealing with new administrative and customs burdens that have also affected those who do business in the EU. “
