- No. This figure is highly exaggerated since it refers only to the proportion of international trade and so excludes all domestic trade, which is much higher.
- But even considering only international trade, according to the Government's Pink Book (2014) 3, 44.4% of our total exports in goods and services were to EU countries. That figure is reduced when we take into account the so-called 'Rotterdam effect'.
Exports first landing in Rotterdam are counted as exports to Europe, even when they are destined to pass on to other countries, such as China, which are outside the EU. Even a conservative estimate of the Rotterdam effect reduces the total figure to about 42.8%. So it is fair to say that under 43% of our international trade is with the EU.
- Figures published by the Office of National Statistics show that only 15.6% of UK businesses are connected with exporting or importing. Of these, no more than 5% of companies trade with the EU 4. While approximately 20% of our economy is concerned with international trade, approximately 80% of the economy is purely domestic (i.e., within the UK itself). Of the 20%, only approximately half of the exports go to EU countries - and yet 100% of our businesses have to comply with EU laws and regulations.
- Britain's trade with the EU has been declining over the last twenty-five years. In 1999, 54.7% of our international trade was with the EU. By 2014, that had reduced to about 42.8%. As already shown, while this trade is important to Britain, it would not be endangered when we leave the EU since, as already demonstrated, the EU cannot put up arbitrary trade barriers against the UK.
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