The UK’s trading relationships have suffered more than the EU’s following its exit from the trade bloc, according to business group Logistics UK. It says the country’s exports are down 23% from 2017 to 2024, while imports fell only by 5%. The findings were revealed on Wednesday (17 June 2025) by Logistics UK’s President Phil Roe in a speech at Multimodal 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham.
To address the trading imbalance between the UK and its closest trading partner bloc, Phil Roe called for a “swift implementation” of the revisions to border checks announced as part of the UK-EU reset summit so the UK can start to reap the benefits of smoother trade once again.
UK exporters have faced greater frictions
In a special conference session, Mr Roe outlined the “tumultuous global trade events of recent years” including COVID-19, the Ukraine war and the Red Sea crisis, highlighting how Brexit and the post-Brexit years have “not happened in a vacuum”. Despite this, Mr Roe explained how UK trade with the EU shows a clear decline. “Between 2017 and 2024, total exports to the EU fell by 23% from 106.4 million tonnes to 82.4 million tonnes, while imports from the EU declined only by 5%, from 111.6 million to 105.5 million tonnes. This suggests UK exporters have faced greater frictions post-Brexit, while imports have been more resilient.”
The pattern is repeated across containerised trade, according to Logistics UK’s analysis produced in association with transport economists MDS Transmodal. Exports to the EU in TEUs are falling by 21% while imports from the EU dropped only 5%. “The data shows that our reliance on the EU is pretty much the same as it was before EU Exit but our exports to the bloc are down,” Phil Roe noted.
Perishable and animal-based products affected
According to Logistics UK, Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) controls introduced as a result of Brexit, which affect animal, plant and food trade, have increased red tape, added costs and increased delays at borders. “These controls have significantly affected trade in perishable and animal-based products, particularly between GB and the EU,” Roe said.
UK exports were impacted since 2021, which was much earlier than EU exports, as UK import checks were delayed until 2024. While the impact on EU to GB exporters was not as significant, thanks to the waivers put in place by the UK’s government, the impact on GB exporters was felt much earlier than that felt by those on the Continent. That is a factor in the disparity between outbound and inbound trade.
UK government needs to work with EU
Analysing specific commodities, Mr Roe showed how, since 2017, fish exports are down 23%, dairy and eggs down 6%, meat and “meat preparations” down by 28% and vegetables and fruit down by 35%.“Exports to the EU have seen significant political and logistical disruption,” the audience were told. “SPS controls veterinary checks, certificates, and customs clearance requirements all create friction and delays which can compromise the viability of exporting highly perishable products.”
Since 2017, vegetable and fruit imports have declined by 12% and meat imports have declined by 5%, which, according to Mr Roe, reflects an impression that, since Brexit, it has become harder to trade with the UK. “Trade associations in the Netherlands and France tell us that working between the EU and GB is now seen as a specialist job for drivers moving these kinds of products, because of the delays and checks they will face. To put the logistics sector in the best position to help drive growth across the whole economy, the government needs to rectify this by working with the EU to help remove friction and delays at our borders.”
Implement as swiftly as possible
The UK-EU Summit in May, which established a commitment to develop an SPS agreement, has the potential to restore trade on agri-food and plant products. “A border agreement based on dynamic alignment would negate many of the post-Brexit checks and help smooth trade with the UK’s largest trading partner,” said Phil Roe. “It is essential that this agreement is implemented as swiftly as possible and has input from businesses at every stage so businesses and the wider economy can start reaping the benefits of smoother trade,” he concluded.
A new accord would certainly provide added impetus for trade … and trades. New routes, like Samskip’s recently announced Blyth – Rotterdam service, take on a new importance in a more relaxed relationship between the UK and the EU. For Logistics UK and their members, that can only be good news. With the sector employing more than seven million people who are making, selling and moving goods, that’s a reset that can only be good news.