Commenting on the latest ONS Trade Figures which show that the UK now imports more than ever from the rest of the EU, Vote Leave spokesman Robert Oxley said:
‘These figures are another nail in the coffin of the argument by pro-EU doom-mongers who claim that we won’t get a free trade deal when we Vote Leave.
‘We are now importing record amounts from the EU. We buy £8 billion more of their goods than they do of ours – so of course other EU countries will want to do a deal with the UK. It will be in everyone’s best interest to have friendly co-operation.
‘Inside the EU, the UK cannot strike its own trade deals with fast growing economies like China and India. We need to Vote Leave and take back control over trade policy.’
Notes to editors
1. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today published UK Trade, October 2015. The full release is available here.
2. Key findings:
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The ONS states that in October 2015, ‘the UK’s deficit [in goods] with the EU reached a record deficit of £8.1 billion’ (p. 6).
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‘Between September 2015 and October 2015, imports from the EU increased by £1.2 billion (6.4%) to a record high of £19.5 billion’ (p. 13).
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The graph below (p. 12) shows the UK’s balance of trade in goods with EU and non-EU countries over the last two years:
3. In 2014, the UK recorded a £61.7 billion deficit in the trade of goods and services with the EU. The UK recorded a £27.2 billion surplus in the trade of goods and services with the rest of the world (ONS, Pink Book, 2015, table 9.3, link).
