Merkel hammerblow: German economy has taken £12bn hit as Brits boycott EU, claims report
Angela Merkel criticised by expert for 'anti-British' stance
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And the economies of France, Spain and Belgium have also been clobbered as Brits vote with their wallets in protest of the UK’s treatment by Brussels, the research, published by pro-Brexit think tank Facts4EU today, has claimed. Facts4EU’s report follows on from one published yesterday based on figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday, which indicated sales into the UK by members of the EU27 in the last 12 months were £27.8billion lower than in 2016.
Today’s study, based on the same ONS figures, lists the principal losers, starting with Germany, which has seen exports to the UK fall by an eye-watering £12.2billion compared with five years ago.
Belgium is the second-biggest loser with a £3.7billion drop, closely followed by France on £3.3billion, with Spain losing out to the tune of £2.6billion.
The Netherlands (£2.7billion), Sweden (£1.2billion) and the Czech Republic (£1.1billion) have also been hit.
Facts4EU’s editor-in-chief, Leigh Evans, said: “British people have nothing against EU27 people – it’s the EU autocracy that’s the problem.
“Any move by British people and businesses to buy less from EU27 companies has nothing to do with the British public’s views about the citizens of EU27 countries.
“If there is a trend away from buying from EU27 companies, we suggest that attention be focused on Brussels and the fanatical ideologues who reside and work there.”
The actions of eurocrats over the last five years appeared to be having an impact on the consumer choices of people living in this country, even those who voted to stay in the bloc, Mr Evans said, with yesterday’s report highlighting the fact that sales into the UK from the EU now accounted for less than 50 percent of international goods and services.
Mr Evans – who said Germany has sometimes referred to the UK as “Treasure Island” in reference to the amount of German goods sold there – added: “Before the EU Referendum and in the five years since, the British public has been fed the narrative that ‘we can’t survive on our own, we’re too small to compete’.
“What utter tosh. Today the United Kingdom is the fifth-largest economy in the world according to the IMF.
“Who wouldn’t be queuing up to sell to us?
“We represent a massive market for global producers. We are home to the world’s international business language.
“We have the most powerful financial hub in Europe. English Common Law is widely respected around the world for the protections it gives and the efficiency it provides in doing business.”
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Mr Evans also hit back at criticisms levelled by some in the comments section of yesterday’s report.
He explained: “Time and again yesterday we saw comments saying “What do you expect? We are now a third country so the EU must impose border and customs controls. This is all the fault of Brexit.”
“As we tried to explain to them in advance in our report yesterday, we are reporting on sales INTO the United Kingdom. These sales are relatively unaffected by Brexit.
“The EU’s borders have nothing to do with sales into the UK.”
“The problems at the borders have all been about UK exports, not EU imports.
“These have been caused by the over-zealous actions of the EU and its customs authorities in allowing UK goods going to the EU.
“Goods flowing the other way – from the EU into the UK – have continued to flow thanks to the UK deciding to operate a ‘light touch’ customs operation with the EU.”
He added: “To the best of our knowledge, no EU trucks have been impounded in the UK due to a French lorry driver having a half-eaten ‘baguette jambon’ in his cab.
“This is not the case with the EU, sadly. Last week the Chairman of Marks & Spencer described how an M&S lorry had been impounded in the Republic of Ireland because their driver had a ham sandwich in his cab.
“The driver was then forced to complete hundreds of pages of EU forms by Irish customs officials before being allowed in.”
Commenting on today’s report, Facts4EU reader Carol Garrington said: “Good to see people are voting with their feet/purses.”
Janice Garwood added: “I actively avoid German and French products. I buy British where I can!”
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