Brussels: Trade in goods between the European Union (EU) and the UK has been deeply affected by Brexit, according to figures published by Eurostat, the bloc’s statistical office.
In the first two months of 2021, exports from the bloc to the UK fell 20.2 percent compared to last year, while the EU’s imports from the UK recorded an even sharper decrease of 47 percent, the figures published on Friday revealed.
As the Brexit transition period ended on December 31, 2020, duties are now imposed on goods traded across the English Channel, which discourages customers on both sides, reports Xinhua news agency.
The UK remained the EU’s third-largest trading partner in January and February, following China and the US.
The EU’s imports from China grew 13.6 percent year-on-year in the first two months, while its exports to China went up 9.3 percent, according to Eurostat.
The bloc’s international trade has been heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, causing a sharp decrease from February 2020 onward and a patchy recovery since then.
In February, the EU’s exports to the rest of the world fell 3.6 percent and its imports dropped by 3 percent compared to the same month of 2020.
Intra-EU trade remained unchanged in February year-on-year.
