Brexit caused U.K. imports from the European Union to collapse and led many small British businesses to give up exporting to the EU altogether, according to an analysis of the first full year of the new trade deal.
Researchers from the London School of Economics’ Center for Economic Performance found that the value imports from the EU fell by 25% relative to what the U.K. bought from the rest of the world. The number of British export relationships with EU firms dropped by 30% after the U.K. left the single market and customs union in January 2021.
The comprehensive study also found that trade was largely unaffected in the 4½ years directly following the vote to leave the EU in 2016. That was despite uncertainty about the shape of the final Brexit deal. It was only after implementation of the new agreement that the consequences emerged.