Share of EU trade for English and Welsh factories falls despite global trade boom

Make UK report says post-Brexit structural shift in trade is particularly hurting factories in north-west and West Midlands

Factories in England and Wales are seeing a downward trend in the share of their trade going to the EU, an analysis from the manufacturers' trade body shows.

Make UK said that between Britain's divorce from the EU in 2020 and 2022, only Scotland and Northern Ireland increased their share of exports to the EU, leaving the majority of English regions and Wales suffering a decline in the proportion of sales going to the bloc.