Kemi Badenoch blasts doom-mongers who insisted Brexit would devastate trade with EU
KEMI Badenoch has blasted doom-mongers who insisted Brexit would devastate trade with the EU.
The Trade Secretary says it has not “severely damaged” the economy as predicted.
And she will today back a new report declaring UK-EU trade has moved broadly in line with countries outside the bloc.
Figures reveal UK goods exports rose 13.5 per cent to the EU and 14.3 per cent to non-EU countries between 2019 and 2022.
Vital UK services grew by 14.8 per cent to the Continent and up by just over a fifth to outside the bloc over the same period, the Institute of Economic Affairs study says.
It says the UK has been “resilient” thanks to the tariff-free and quota-free Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU in 2020.
Ms Badenoch will back the report at the start of International Trade Week when she attends the Boost Your Global Success launch event.
Speaking in London, she will say: “This is why I just don’t agree with the narrative that Brexit has ‘severely damaged’ our economy.
“We should stop talking ourselves down, and instead talk ourselves up.”
Report author Catherine McBride said the “false narrative that Brexit has harmed UK trade . . . just isn’t true.”