The contribution of trade to UK GDP has “stagnated” because of “persistent underperformance”, the World Trade Organization has said, with the UK’s exports of goods languishing at 17 per cent below their pre-Covid levels.
In its first formal review of UK trade policy since Brexit, the WTO found that UK trade performance had weakened since the 2008 financial crisis, with Brexit named among the chief causes of a marked slump in goods trade since 2018.
The WTO noted the “central role” of trade in the UK economy and said the UK must take steps to boost trade if it wanted to improve growth. But its warning came as the UK’s trade minister Sir Chris Bryant confirmed the government was making cuts to export promotion staff.
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