Leading business group Logistics UK has launched a campaign to persuade the Government to generate trade-led growth by fixing border friction and smoothing trade.
This comes after analysis by the organisation revealed that closing the gap between the UK’s current trade intensity (how much the country trades relative to the size of the economy and its 2019 level) could be worth around £12 billion to the country’s economy in the long run.
Logistics UK argues that a lack of alignment with key trading partners, including frictions resulting from Brexit, have held back the UK economy by the equivalent of around £400 per household in extra economic output.
By volume, UK exports to the EU fell by 15.9% in the past 10 years and UK exports to non-EU Europe and the Mediterranean region fell by 5.0%, while exports to Rest of World fell by 37.2%.
Speaking ahead of meetings in Brussels with senior policymakers and industry stakeholders about the UK-EU trading relationship, Logistics UK Chief Executive, Ben Fletcher, said, “The UK grows when it trades, but unnecessary trade friction is increasing costs, reducing competitiveness and holding back growth. In the current climate of geo-political uncertainty, we need to control the controllables.”
He has called for the forthcoming EU-UK Summit to focus on removing non-tariff barriers and to maintain momentum on the removal of costly border checks for meat and dairy products, as well as agreeing further reductions in trade friction such as addressing slow digital border processes and restrictions that limit the number of days HGV drivers and other logistics workers can spend in the 29 Schengen Area countries.
However, the Summit, which was scheduled to be held on 22 July, has been postponed by the EU following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer.
