Trade balance of goods in the United Kingdom 2023
The statistic shows the trade balance of goods (exports minus imports of goods) in the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2023. A positive value means a trade surplus, a negative trade balance means a trade deficit. In 2023, the trade deficit of goods in the United Kingdom amounted to about 270.61 billion U.S. dollars.
On the effects of Brexit on the UK's economy
The United Kingdom has maintained a trade deficit over the last ten years, but now that the country has chosen to leave the European Union, current trade agreements will need to be renegotiated and trade relationships and the trade balance will change. As of 2015, one of the UK’s most important import and export partners was Germany, but it also trades heavily with many other countries within the European Union; more than half of total value of the UK trade in goods is associated with European Union countries.
Trade agreements which have been negotiated by the European Union extend beyond member countries, and the United Kingdom will now have to renegotiate its own trade deals with a far larger number of countries by itself. It remains to be seen as to how the UK will manage these negotiations. Another big question is how the UK banking sector will be able to access the European market. As of 2014, services contributed close to 80 percent of UK GDP, which includes banking services.
While it is too soon predict how BREXIT will impact the United Kingdom entirely, estimates of the decision’s long term effects estimate negative GDP growth of around 2.72 percent in an optimistic scenario, with the pessimistic scenario estimating negative growth of around 7.7 percent.
