Admin l Saturday, February 4, 2023
BERLIN – The economic importance of Britain for German foreign trade continues to decline three years after Brexit, according to an analysis of data from the Federal Statistical Office.
Due to the consequences of Brexit, as Britain’s departure from the European Union is popularly known, and the poor situation of the British car industry, the country slipped out of the top 10 German trading partners in 2022 for the first time in recent history, the GTAI said.
The bilateral exchange of goods increased nominally by 14.1% compared to the previous year, to €111 million ($120 million). However, German trade with the Czech Republic grew by 16.4% to €112.9 million – pushing Britain out of 10th place.
Before the Brexit referendum in 2016, Britain was still in fifth place in the ranking of German trading partners. Since 2018, the country has then steadily dropped down the rankings.
Britain left the EU at the end of January 2020 and ceased to be a member of the EU’s customs union and single market in January 2021. Despite a last-minute agreement, new tariffs and burdensome bureaucracy have since hampered trade between Britain and the EU in many sectors.
“There are many reasons for the slump,” the GTAI said. “For example, Brexit is slowing trade development at numerous levels. And the weak development of commercial investment since the 2016 referendum is inhibiting demand for industrial goods from Germany.”
