MARCH 2017 - TRADE OUTLOOK by Dr. Rebecca Harding, Equant Analytics

The stage looks set for the UK to trigger Article 50 as planned by the end of March 2017. This will start the process of negotiating the UK’s way out of the European Union, a process which will be at best difficult. As no-one at this stage knows precisely what the trade arrangements will be after Brexit, and as these arrangements won’t come into place for at least eighteen months, it is a good idea to take a snapshot of where we are now in trade terms and, indeed, to look at what the future looks like if nothing changes. At the very least, this provides a reference point for that point in the future when we are, well, where we will be.

Figure 1: Projected annualized average growth of UK trade with global regions, 2016-2020

Source:  Equant Analytics 2017

At first glance the chart shows that although UK exports to the EU 27 and the EU currency area are projected to fall, export growth to the Asia Pacific region (APTA) may be as high as 7.4% annually to 2020. This is a pattern that has been gaining some momentum for the past few years, particularly since the investment of BMW in the UK, which has boosted car exports to China for example. Export trade to the Middle East and North Africa is also projected to grow and much of this is in aerospace and engineering-related supply chains. Trade with North America seems set on a downward path – clearly Theresa May’s recent visit to the US has yet to show through in the projections!