The government must urgently advocate for the UK's renewed EU membership to revive declining exports, campaigners have urged.
The UK’s trade deficit has widened to £9.66bn in March 2026 up from £5.34bn in February 2026 based on newly released data from Office Of National Statistics (ONS). This marks the largest trade gap since January 2022.
Strengthening the UK-EU relationship can help repair trade with Europe post-Brexit, as Best for Britain has called for in our latest report.
Naomi Smith, Chief Executive of Best for Britain, said:
“Thanks to Brexit’s trade barriers, mountains of red tape and higher border charges, businesses up and down the UK face the ongoing headache of a significant slump in EU exports, driving up costs, and harming the UK’s GDP.
“We cannot dip a toe in the EU’s trade pool and expect to come out with any tangible economic benefit or an improved relationship with our European allies: to repair the damage demands a far greater sense of urgency, including advocating for the UK’s renewed EU membership, as the public have made clear they support.”