European Union imports from the UK collapsed 18% year-on-year in the first half of the year, following the post-Brexit trade deal and its implementation on January 1, according to official European statistics released on Friday.

According to Eurostat, British exports to the EU, in value, fell by 18.2% during the first six months of the year, compared to the same period in 2020. Figures that contrast with the performance released on Thursday by the Office National Statistics, which stated that exports of goods to the EU, excluding precious metals, were higher in May and June than their pre-Brexit level. European and British administrations use different methodologies to measure cross-border trade, which can lead to divergent assessments.

By contrast, EU exports to the UK increased by 5.5% year-on-year in the first half of the year, according to Eurostat. As a result, the Twenty-seven’s trade surplus with its neighbor on the other side of the English Channel jumped to € 69.6 billion during the period, against € 47.8 billion in the first half of the previous year.

For the benefit of China and the United States

Among the EU’s top ten trading partners, the UK (third) is an exception: all the others (China, the US, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Norway, South Korea and India) have seen their exports to the Increase of the European bloc.

By contrast, EU exports increased to each of these ten countries. Overall, Eurostat statistics show a 22.3% increase in European exports in June over one year, to € 188.3 billion. At the same time, EU imports increased by 29.6% to € 173.5 billion.