Lib Dems: £7.7bn Brexit red tape bill for British traders ‘Bleeding Business Dry’
EMBARGO: Immediate Release
Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed that UK businesses have been hit with a staggering £7.7 billion Brexit red tape bill to trade with the European Union between 2022 and 2025.
Official data obtained by Europe Spokesperson Al Pinkerton MP shows traders faced £1.8 billion in paperwork costs in 2022 alone. Applying HMRC’s benchmark of £48 per declaration across the 160.4 million declarations filed between 2022 and 2025, the total cost of Brexit bureaucracy has reached astronomical proportions.
Ahead of the upcoming UK-EU summit, the party is urging the Government to use this critical opportunity to address the mounting crisis and to stop ignoring the financial strain placed on British businesses.
The Liberal Democrats argue that rejoining the Single Market and a Customs Union is the only pragmatic solution to tear down these pointless barriers, allowing British enterprise to trade seamlessly across Europe once again.
Liberal Democrat Europe Spokesperson, Al Pinkerton MP, said:
"These figures lay bare the crushing price of red tape holding our economy back. Billions of pounds that should be fueling jobs and innovation are instead swallowed up by Brexit bureaucracy.
“The Prime Minister himself admits that pointless paperwork shouldn't strangle business. He must now turn those words into action: heed Liberal Democrat calls, and rejoin the Single Market and a Customs Union.
“Neither the Conservatives who negotiated this botched deal nor the Labour Government refusing to fix it can keep burying their heads in the sand. It’s time to stop letting Brexit red tape bleed British business dry."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
First reported in the Independent here.
Written question here.
HMRC estimate the total admin burden traders faced for the completion of import and export customs declarations for GB-EU trade in 2022 was £1.8 billion.
This estimate is based on the 38.6 million import and export declarations received in 2022 relating to trade between GB and the EU. The volume of declarations is sourced from HMRC administrative databases and aligned to published Official Statistics.
The admin burden of GB-EU import and export declarations is estimated by multiplying the volume of declarations by an estimated per-declaration cost. This aligns with internationally recognised Standard Cost Model methods to estimate admin burden.
The number of reported customs declarations across 2022/23/24/25, total: 160.4 million. The average cost of a declaration is £48. 160,400,000 x 48 = £7,699,200,000.
The number of customs declarations for trade in goods between Great Britain and the European Union:
Total (2022-2025) = 160.4 million
The number of customs declarations for trade in goods between Great Britain and the European Union x average cost of a declaration (£48):
- 2022 - 38.6 million x £48 = £1.8528 billion
- 2023 - 41.7 million x £48 = £2.0016 billion
- 2024 - 39.2 million x £48 = £1.8816 billion
- 2025 - 40.9 million x £48 = £1.9632 billion
Total = £7,699,200,000
Prime Minister’s comments on it being unfair "pointless bureaucracy gets in the way of hard-working people building their businesses.” covered here.
