The European Apparel and Textile Confederation Euratex has looked at the latest trade data from January to September 2021 and found a “dramatic drop” of imports and exports of textile goods between the EU and UK, with exports falling by 44 percent to almost 2 billion euros and exports by 22 percent, corresponding to 1.6 billion euros. This means significant losses for companies on both sides.
“The situation is likely to get worse, as the full customs regime between UK and EU has entered into force on 1 January 2022,” warns the Confederation. Thus, Euratex calls on the European Union and the United Kingdom to effectively cooperate to remove the issues in the EU-UK trade agreement that prevent smooth trade flows.
Billion euro losses on UK and EU side
The most impacted EU countries on the export side are Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany according to the data, while on the import side, the most impacted countries are Germany, Ireland and France.
Among the textile and clothing sectors, clothing articles are facing the most severe drop in both imports and…
