A lack of alignment between UK and EU testing standards is pushing British companies to halt exports to the European market, costing the economy a significant share of annual income. Without a mutual recognition agreement, manufacturers face burdensome duplicate testing, leading some to abandon EU sales or establish operations within the bloc. The thinktank estimates lost trade—particularly in motor vehicles, electronics, and pharmaceuticals—could have added billions to annual exports. The findings highlight ongoing trade friction since Brexit, where regulatory divergence has created barriers for UK businesses.
IPPR finds failure to align testing standards has forced companies to abandon exporting to EU and is costing costing 0.18% of national incomeThe UK is losing out on annual exports to the EU that could be worth as much as £6.5bn without a deal with Brussels that allows manufacturers to jettison duplicate product testing.In the latest attempt to calculate the loss of trade with the EU after Brexit, the IPPR thinktank said many companies have given up selling goods to the EU or set up subsidiaries inside the trade bloc after successive governments failed to secure a mutual recognition agreement that would avoid the extra administration costs.Motor vehicle and part exports would have been between £2.48bn and £3.42bn higher each year.Electronic exports could have been between £1.17bn and £1.67bn higher.Pharmaceutical exports would have had an estimated annual uplift of between £740m and £820m. Continue reading...
