Britain’s untapped trade potential will comfortably offset any effects of Brexit on exports to the EU, new research by the think tank Open Europe has found. Their new report in conjunction with Prosperity UK has located £41 billion-a-year of under-performing non-EU export markets. Remarkably, Britain is currently on track to under trade with India, Canada and Israel by £10 billion-a-year…

Membership of the EU has stopped the UK trading freely with faster-growing non-EU countries, though the report argues we should not focus solely on Free Trade Agreements, instead seeking bilateral investment treaties and targeted agreements to address particular trade issues. It argues for greater engagement with India, Canada, Israel and China prioritising UK service exports. These are practical, sensible solutions to make Brexit work from Open Europe’s director Henry Newman, who says:

“With the right trade policy, the UK can seize the opportunities that Brexit will create, while compensating for its impact on exports to the EU… whatever Government is formed after 9 June, it should prioritise trade with India, Canada, and Israel, and – in the case of services – China. The UK needs a trade policy to fit the future and by 2030, our model indicates, the UK will have £41 billion of untapped trade potential with the top ten countries for goods and services.”

The parlous state of Britain’s exports was immediately identified by Theresa May’s government when they took office. Liam Fox, far from twiddling his thumbs as some tiresome Remainers would have you believe, has spent most of his time at DIT trying to get exports up to shape. There is a lot of work to be done but this will be key post-Brexit…