The emergence of Brexit has made it really confusing for UK businessmen to understand trade policies especially when it comes to imports. The UK-EU trade is already there for a long time but to understand the implications of it, it would take some time for both UK businesses and also consumers. Moving forward, the UK intends to capitalize on the global opportunity which is set for trade. The future of UK trade is kind of blurry after Brexit. Before Brexit, the UK was already a part of any trade deal that the EU had negotiated with any other country. After Brexit has happened, the UK and EU need to set the future rules for the trading relationship. This is extremely important considering the EU is the UK’s closest trading partner. The Brexit transit period revolutionised the way goods are supposed to be transferred between the UK and Europe. The way logistics have been functioning before and after Brexit will see a massive change. Freightline Carriers, one of the renowned and most trusted logistic company lists out the top importers of the UK before Brexit had happened.
- Germany has been one of the top countries when it comes to EU trading partners, moving across £30,875.83 million worth of goods between November 2019 to November 2020.
- China was considered as the second biggest importer of the UK between November 2019 and November 2020. When calculated the country imported £22,953.33 million worth of goods during this particular period. China was considered as the UK’s fifth largest trading partner during the first half of 2020.
- The United States stands in the third position when it comes to UK’ trading partner and has already exported £16,056.82 million worth of goods to Britain in 12 months from November 2019.
- Netherlands have already sent £13,268.46 million worth of goods to the UK during this period. This country is ranking in the fourth position when it comes to trading with UK.
- UK has imported £10,069.62 worth of goods from Norway, which has made this non-EU member European country, the fifth largest importer during this period.
UK no longer has to abide by the EU rules specially on product standards. Businesses do need to get used to new checks. This actually means more paperwork, that can result in delays if the businesses show up at ports unprepared.
After Brexit, the UK has benefited from any trade deal the EU has already made with a non-EU country. The country has already negotiated deals with 63 of these countries which will enable them to continue trading the same way as before. The Government has already announced that it would join a free trade deal with 11 of the Asia and Pacific countries which include Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Also, there have been talks with the US, New Zealand and Australia to strengthen the new trade deals that would pave the way for closer trade relationships with these countries.