According to the British Chamber of Commerce, the EU is the UK’s largest and most important trading partner globally: it accounts for 42 % of UK exports and 52 % of imports. Figure 2 confirms this and illustrates the UK’s dependence on the EU in terms of trade in goods. Indeed, the EU has remained the UK’s number one trade partner since the signature and implementation of the TCA, with the EU’s weight in total UK trade in goods – i.e., the sum of imports and exports of goods – increasing substantially from 46.2 % in 2021 to 51.8 % in 2023 and 52 % in 2024. In 2023, China’s share in UK total goods trade has decreased by 2.6 percentage points, resulting in its retreat from second to third place in the ranking, following the United States. In 2024, China’s share in the UK’s total trade in goods continued to fall (7.8 %), while it continued to grow with the United States (12.3 %). Impressively, Russia fell from seventh position (with 1.9 % share in total UK trade) in 2021, to 44th (0.09 %) in 2023, because of sanctions (among other things). As illustrated in Figure 2, while the UK’s other trade partners retained the same rank in 2023, Türkiye and India have moved up to fifth and sixth place respectively.
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