A decade on from the Brexit referendum, the UK-EU trading relationship remains highly significant, but has become more complex. In 2025, the EU still accounted for 41% of all UK exports of goods and services, worth £384 billion, and 50% of UK imports, worth £472 billion. The data shows that the EU remains one of the UK’s most important commercial partners, but Brexit has changed the cost and complexity of doing business across the Channel. While UK–EU trade remains central to the UK economy, it now operates under a more complex and costly framework that businesses must continually adapt to. This is part of a wider set of changes reshaping the UK’s trading position in the global economy, explored across this series.
The main issue is not tariffs. Under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, most goods can still move tariff-free if they meet rules of origin requirements. The bigger problem is non-tariff barriers: customs declarations, export documentation, rules of origin, VAT procedures, border checks and sector-specific certification.
For many businesses, these barriers are not theoretical. Customs procedures, export documentation, regulatory requirements, standards compliance and tariff-related concerns have become day-to-day operational issues for companies trading between the UK and the EU.
The food and drink sector offers one of the clearest examples. UK-EU agri-food exports have fallen significantly since 2018, while export volumes in the wider food sector have also come under pressure. For companies exporting meat, dairy, fish or composite food products, the need for export health certificates, SPS checks and additional paperwork has increased both costs and delivery times.
The impact is particularly strong for SMEs. A large company can often absorb the cost of customs agents, compliance specialists and revised logistics systems. A small exporter shipping mixed pallets or low-value consignments may find that the administrative cost outweighs the commercial value of the order. In practice, some firms have reduced EU sales, stopped serving certain customers, or created EU-based distribution hubs to avoid repeated UK-EU border friction.
The wider economic evidence points in the same direction. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that Brexit will reduce UK long-run productivity by 4% compared with remaining in the EU. It also expects both exports and imports to be around 15% lower in the long run. Recent research from the Centre for European Reform estimates that UK exports to the EU are around 12% lower than they would otherwise have been, with goods exports being 16% lower.
Brexit has therefore not ended UK-EU trade, but it has made it more expensive, more administrative and more dependent on specialist knowledge. For companies, the key question is no longer whether barriers exist, but how well they are managed.
Has your business been affected by Brexit-related trade barriers? Share your experience with us and help show how UK-EU trade is working for companies today.