UK exports to EU down 18pc as Brexit bites

BRUSSELS: Imports into the European Union from ex-member Britain fell 18 percent in the first six months of this year, EU data showed on Friday, as post-Brexit trade relations took hold. The figures from the EU’s Eurostat agency differed from those put out a day earlier by Britain’s Office for National Statistics, which asserted that exports “were above” pre-Brexit levels.

The EU and British statistics agencies use different methodologies to count cross-border movements, which explains the very different figures.

According to Eurostat, imports into the EU from Britain plummeted 18.2 percent between January and June this year, compared with the same six-month period last year and based on the value of the goods.