On Friday the European Commission released a new report on the bloc’s trade statistics, which showed that in the first five months of this year, British exports to the EU increased by 58.8 percent, compared to the previous period from January to May last year. Eurostat figures showed that the EU recorded a trade deficit of €35 billion (£29.8 billion) in May alone, while UK exports to the bloc grew 69.9 percent.
New research by Facts4EU.Org and CIBUK.Org reveals that while the UK remains the EU’s second largest export market, the trade balance between the two appears to be shifting rapidly.
The study’s authors noted that “despite the European Commission’s valiant efforts to make it as difficult as possible for UK companies to export to the EU, many of these companies manage to get their products in.”
The survey also found that the EU has moved rapidly from an international trade surplus to a significant deficit over the past two years.
Exclusive to Express.co.uk, Professor Daniel Hodson, Deputy Chairman of CIBUK, said: “For years we were told that the UK would not be able to survive on its own without being a member of the European Union.
“This has always been blatantly wrong on every level. The idea that the world’s fifth largest economy could not survive as an independent country was an absurdity.
“Nevertheless, this mantra was repeated over and over – and still is.
“Our report puts some facts behind Brexiteers’ claim that: ‘We’ll be fine without EU membership, thank you’.
“Not only that, it clearly shows that the EU has some serious problems. The once invincible trade surplus has disappeared into a big hole and has grown into a large and growing deficit.
“The EU’s trade deficit in the first five months of this year was €163 billion (about £139 billion) in red, compared to a surplus in the same period last year of €69 billion (about £59 billion) in black .
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