LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom lost market share in the United States, Germany and China during the COVID-19 pandemic due to global trade chaos, Brexit and poor productivity, according to new research released Monday.
According to the report from the Center for Business Prosperity of Aston University’s Lloyd’s Banking Group, the UK behaved especially negatively due to a long-term stagnation in productivity growth.
Although all countries faced the turmoil of COVID-19, the United Kingdom lost market share in its most important export markets: the United States and Germany, according to research.
“In some key export destinations (Germany, the United Kingdom and China), it appears that the United Kingdom has suffered a sharper fall, experienced a slower recovery and seen its global competitiveness decline,” he said. ‘report.
“The fall in UK exports to the United States seemed the strongest in absolute and relative terms and the longest among major European countries (except France).”
Between 2017 and 2019, the United Kingdom increased total exports to Germany by 8.5%, less than the export growth achieved by Italy (12%), the Netherlands (14%) and Spain (20%) , as well as the United States (24)%).
“This, to some extent, paints a picture of the slowdown in UK exports to Germany following the 2016 Brexit referendum, which may indicate some decoupling between the two economies,” the report said. economists Jun Du and Oleksandr Shepotylo.
The research, based on United Nations trade statistics, also indicates that the UK lost market share to China. here
“The combination of COVID, Brexit and the UK’s long-term productivity challenges will place British companies in an adverse position for the foreseeable future,” the report said.
The relatively low productivity of the UK has baffled economies for years – explanations range from low employee skills and low investment in research to demand-side factors such as the financial crisis.
($ 1 = £ 0.7225)
Report by Guy Faulconbridge, edited by Louise Heavens