Treasure Island’ Brits Choose To Buy ‘Non-EU’ £12bn Hit For Germany In Last 12 Months, £3.3bn Hit For France.
Are we seeing the consequences of the EU Commission’s anti-British actions over Brexit?
The analysis comes from detailed figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics.
Not surprisingly, in monetary terms, Germany comes out as the biggest loser, followed by Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Spain.
The 10 biggest losers of British custom — last 12 months compared to 2016
The EU27’s losers by the number of sales lost to British customers
- Germany -£12.2 bn
- Belgium -£3.7 bn
- France -£3.3 bn
- Netherlands -£2.7 bn
- Spain -£2.6 bn
- Sweden -£1.2 bn
- Czechia -£1.1 bn
- Italy -£0.7 bn
- Slovakia -£0.4 bn
- Portugal -£0.4 bn
I analysed the detailed figures published by the Office for National Statistics last week and looked at what British customers are buying from all countries around the world — not only the EU.
Naturally, Covid has influenced international trade. However, the drop in sales to British customers from non-EU countries over the past 12 months is only 1.2% compared to 2016. The drop in sales to British customers from EU27 countries is 11.3%. This is almost 10 times worse.
When it comes to the very latest data for Q1 2021, compared to the same quarter in 2016, British customers have bought 16.3% more from the rest of the world.
The EU’s biggest losers by a drop in the percentage of sales
As the EU’s largest economy, it is not surprising that Germany has lost most in terms of financial totals. If an EU country sells more, it loses more if there is a trend away from buying from EU countries.
The actual totals in pounds can therefore disguise the impact on individual countries. Below I show the percentage drop in sales to British customers from the top 10 worst affected EU countries.
- Malta -60.9%
- Czechia -20.2%
- Sweden -18.9%
- Germany -18.7%
- Slovakia -16.4%
- Romania -16.1%
- Spain -15.1%
- Portugal -14.9%
- Belgium -14.5%
- France -12.7%
I predicted that Remainers would confuse imports with exports in their attempts to explain away the drop in the EU’s sales to the UK. Remainers did not disappoint. Time and again yesterday I saw comments saying “What do you expect? We are now the third country so the EU must impose border and customs controls. This is all the fault of Brexit.” As I tried to explain to them in advance in my article yesterday (which few seem to have actually read before commenting), I AM reporting on sales INTO the United Kingdom. These sales are relatively unaffected by Brexit.
The EU’s borders have nothing to do with sales into the UK
The problems at the borders have all been about UK exports, not EU imports. These have been caused by the over-zealous actions of the EU and its customs authorities in allowing UK goods to go to the EU. Goods flowing the other way — from the EU into the UK — have continued to flow thanks to the UK deciding to operate a ‘light touch’ customs operation with the EU.
No EU trucks have been impounded in the UK due to a French lorry driver having a half-eaten ‘baguette jambon’ in his cab. This is not the case with the EU, sadly. Last week the Chairman of Marks & Spencer described how an M&S lorry had been impounded in the Republic of Ireland because their driver had a ham sandwich in his cab. The driver was then forced to complete hundreds of pages of EU forms by Irish customs officials before being allowed in.
British people have nothing against EU27 people — it’s the EU autocracy that’s the problem, it has always been about that. any move by British people and businesses to buy less from EU27 companies has nothing to do with the British public’s views about the citizens of EU27 countries. If there is a trend away from buying from EU27 companies, I suggest that attention be focused on Brussels and the fanatical ideologues who reside and work there.
The actions of the EU autocrats over the past five years appears to be having an impact — even on those who voted Remain in 2016.
Global Britain — the World’s fifth largest customer
Before the EU Referendum and in the five years since, the British public has been fed the narrative that “we can’t survive on our own, we’re too small to compete.”
What utter tosh. Today the United Kingdom is the fifth-largest economy in the World according to the IMF. Who wouldn’t be queuing up to sell to us? We represent a massive market for global producers. We are home to the world’s international business language. We have the most powerful financial hub in Europe. English Common Law is widely respected around the world for the protection it gives and the efficiency it provides in doing business.
And — as if all that wasn’t enough — we have the most fecund Prime Minister in the world, sporting the world’s worst haircut. What’s not to like?
Sources: Office for National Statistics trade figures, 27 Jul 2021
