BRITISH-EUROPEAN TRADE MIRED IN BUREAUCRACY

In January, French exports to the U.K. were 13 percent fewer than the previous six months’ average. German exports to Britain were down 30 percent year over year, Italy’s 38 percent. 
For the month, Italy imported 70 percent fewer items from Britain.
“I have a hard time deciding what is the impact of Brexit and what is simply the impact of coronavirus,” which already has slashed trade among western nations, Gilles Moec, chief economist at Axa, a French insurer, told the Financial Times. 
Much of the losses are due to newly complex customs requirements, mandates for health certificates for some items, higher shipping costs, and difficulty in finding transport.
Some trucking firms reportedly are now refusing to make the crossing between Britain and Europe due to sometimes days-long delays in trips that previously took a few hours.
In 2020, Europe’s exports to the U.K. dropped 13.2 percent; Britain’s exports to Europe were down 13.90 percent.
Britain’s exports to Europe have fallen from 17 percent of its total exports to 14 percent since the Brexit referendum passed in 2016, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency.
TREND FORECAST: As we have noted, even in the best of times, the implications of the Brexit deal would dampen U.K. economic growth projections. 
Now, with economies shut down in ways that were unimaginable this time last year, the economic devastation will escalate in the U.K. as the “Greatest Depression” worsens.