Germany's exports to UK continue to decline in 2021
January 29, 2022, 8:37 am

Germany's exports to UK continue to decline in 2021

Brexit-EU/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported that the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Friday, one year after the United Kingdom's (UK) withdrawal from the European Union (EU), Germany's exports to the UK decreased by 2.5 percent year-on-year to 65.4 billion euros (72.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021.

In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany's exports to the UK had already plummeted by 15.3 percent.

After the UK ceased to be part of the EU's single market, the two sides concluded a comprehensive trade and cooperation agreement, which entered into force on Jan. 1, 2021.

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In 2021, the UK fell from fifth to eighth place in terms of exports and from 11th to 13th place in terms of imports in the ranking of Germany's most important trading partners Destatis said.

The German ifo Institute said on Friday: "Brexit has had an unfavorable impact on trade between the EU and the United Kingdom."

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Although the trade and cooperation agreement did manage to avoid higher tariffs, barriers such as inspection certificates as well as other documents and requirements "make the border crossing more time-consuming and complicated, resulting in higher trade costs," the ifo Institute said.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.