UK secures 'remarkable' post-Brexit victory as Britain becomes major European gateway port's top trading partner
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GB NEWS
Britain has surged ahead of the US to become a major European gateway port's top trading partner in what has been branded a "remarkable" post-Brexit victory.
UK trade with the North Sea Port, which stretches across Belgium and the Netherlands, soared by 26 per cent last year.
At the same time, the port's trade with the US has slumped by six per cent.
In total, Britain traded six million tons of goods with the port in 2024, up by 1.2 million on 2023's numbers, and reversing the drop-off in the years immediately after Brexit.
UK trade with the North Sea Port soared by 26 per cent last year
PA
Over in Belgium, commentators from news site VRT called the resurgence "remarkable" - while the Brussels Times said "the effects of Brexit on the port's activity appear to be fading".
And Maarten Den Dekker, of the North Sea Port, told VRT: "That trade is now recovering gives us hope for the future."
Some 66.3 million tons of cargo were traded via the North Sea Port last year.
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UK trade with the North Sea Port, which stretches across Belgium and the Netherlands, soared by 26 per cent last year
NORTH SEA PORT
After the US, the sprawling port's third- and fourth-largest trading partners were Sweden and Canada.
British goods exports to the EU dropped off in January 2021 after the initial Brexit transition period came to a close.
And though trade has recovered since then, the total volume of goods exported to the Brussels bloc in 2023 was 11 per cent lower than 2019's levels.
But this decline can't solely be blamed on Brexit - UK exports to countries outside the EU also stood at 11 per cent lower than 2019 following the pandemic.
The EU was the destination for 42 per cent of British exports in 2023, with the continental club buying up 49 per cent of Britain's goods, and 36 per cent of services.
In a statement, the North Sea Port companies, which number around 550, said the numbers showed that "the impact of Brexit seems to be a thing of the past".
The 37-mile-wide hub encompasses the Belgian inland port of Ghent, as well as the Dutch ports of Terneuzen and Flushing.
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