Question 1

How much food does the UK import?

Accepted Answer

In 2025, 58% of the food consumed in the UK came from UK production, 23% from the EU and 19% from the rest of the world, measured by the farm-gate value of raw food. The figures are in Defra's Food statistics in your pocket , updated on 29 July 2026. Defra's food production to supply ratio, often called self-sufficiency, was 60% for all food and 72% for foods that can be grown in the UK. Fruit and vegetables were the largest food import group by value in 2025, at about £15.0 billion, and imports exceeded exports in every broad food group except drinks, where Scotch whisky helps produce a surplus. Check whether a claim uses value or volume, all food or only home-grown types, and note that Defra says high self-sufficiency is not the same as food security.

Question 2

What is the UK current account deficit?

Accepted Answer

The current account records the UK's trade plus its income flows and transfers with the rest of the world. Excluding precious metals, the deficit narrowed to £11.3 billion, or 1.4% of GDP, in April to June 2026, from £14.3 billion the quarter before, according to the ONS Balance of payments bulletin published on 30 September 2026. Including precious metals, it was £19.9 billion (2.5% of GDP). The ONS publishes balance of payments figures quarterly; the next release was due on 22 December 2026. Its annual Pink Book gives the full detail. Every quarter is open to revision, which ONS says ranged up to 1.7% of GDP in the latest release, so check the edition. A current account deficit is financed by net inflows of money from abroad and differs from the trade deficit and from government borrowing.

Question 3

What does the UK import the most?

Accepted Answer

Cars are the UK's largest goods import. In the 12 months to July 2026 the UK imported £48.7 billion of cars, followed by mechanical power generators (£33.4 billion), refined oil (£27.7 billion), medicinal and pharmaceutical products (£27.2 billion) and telecoms equipment (£23.3 billion), according to ONS figures in DBT's UK trade in numbers . Total imports of goods and services were £1,005.7 billion over that period, of which £654.1 billion were goods and £351.6 billion services. Travel abroad by UK residents counts as a services import: it was £85.5 billion in the four quarters to June 2026. For imports from a particular country, use the DBT trade and investment factsheets or HMRC's trade tables, which go down to individual product codes. See how to look up trade data .

Question 4

What tariffs does the UK charge on imports?

Accepted Answer

The UK Global Tariff applies to all goods imported into the UK unless the goods come from a country with a UK trade agreement, a relief or suspension applies, or the goods come from a developing country under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, as explained in GOV.UK guidance on tariffs on goods imported into the UK . The rate for any product is set by its commodity code. HMRC's Trade Tariff service shows the duty, any quota and VAT for each code and origin country. Imports from the US are covered by the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal, whose general terms were agreed on 8 May 2025 and which DBT publishes as a policy paper. Duty is separate from import VAT. When checking a claim about "a tariff on" a country, identify the products and codes: rates differ from one code to the next.

Question 5

How many trade deals does the UK have?

Accepted Answer

GOV.UK keeps the official list on its UK trade agreements in effect page, last updated on 1 September 2026. When we checked it on 13 October 2026 it listed about 40 agreements covering more than 70 countries and territories, from the UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand free trade agreements to the CPTPP Pacific trade bloc and the UK-India trade deal added in August 2026. Trade with the EU is covered separately by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The page also gives total UK trade in 2025 with each partner, which shows how much trade each deal covers. Many agreements continue terms the UK had as an EU member, so a count of "deals signed since Brexit" depends on whether these continuity agreements are included. Some apply provisionally before full ratification.

Question 6

How much does the UK trade with China?

Accepted Answer

UK trade with China was £107.2 billion in the four quarters to the end of March 2026, according to DBT's China trade and investment factsheet published on 24 September 2026. UK exports to China were £32.3 billion and imports from China £74.9 billion, so the UK had a trade deficit with China. China was the UK's fourth largest trading partner, accounting for 5.6% of total UK trade. The factsheet also breaks the figures down by product, by service type and by UK nation and region. Partner figures are revised as new survey data arrive, so quote the period and edition. Goods made in China but shipped via another country may be recorded against that country. Factsheets for every other partner are in the DBT collection .

Question 7

What is the UK trade deficit?

Accepted Answer

The UK imports more than it exports, so it runs a trade deficit. In the three months to July 2026 the total goods and services deficit was £9.0 billion, narrowing by £1.1 billion on the previous three months, according to the ONS UK trade bulletin published on 11 September 2026. That combined a £61.6 billion deficit in goods with a £52.6 billion surplus in services. The ONS publishes UK trade monthly, about six weeks after the month ends; the next release was due on 15 October 2026. Headline figures exclude precious metals such as gold, because trading in them is large and erratic. A trade deficit is not the same as the government's budget deficit, which is about public borrowing. Check whether a figure is monthly, three-monthly or annual, and whether it includes precious metals. The wider measure is the current account .

Question 8

How much does the UK export to the EU?

Accepted Answer

The UK exported £385.3 billion of goods and services to the EU in the four quarters to the end of March 2026, 2.3% more than a year earlier, and imported £480.6 billion from it. Exports to non-EU countries were larger, at £551.3 billion. These figures, in current prices, come from ONS balance of payments data summarised in DBT's UK trade in numbers . For long-run comparisons the ONS publishes exports to the EU and non-EU in its monthly UK trade release, in both current prices and inflation-adjusted (chained volume) terms. Comparing before and after Brexit needs care. DBT notes that changes to how trade data were collected after the UK left the EU create a break in the series, and that rising prices inflate cash values. Compare like with like, ideally in real terms . See what official forecasters say about Brexit and trade .

Question 9

Who is the UK's biggest trading partner?

Accepted Answer

The United States is the UK's largest single trading partner. In the four quarters to the end of March 2026, UK trade with the US was £333.9 billion, 17.4% of all UK trade, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) trade and investment factsheets updated on 24 September 2026. Germany was second (8.1%), China fourth (5.6%). Taken as one bloc, the EU is bigger than any single country. Over that period the UK exported £385.3 billion to the EU and imported £480.6 billion from it, against £551.3 billion of exports and £501.1 billion of imports with all non-EU countries combined ( UK trade in numbers ). Check whether a claim compares a country with a bloc, and whether it covers goods only or goods and services. Goods routed through ports such as Rotterdam may be recorded against the transit country. See our guide to UK trade statistics .

Question 10

What does the UK export the most?

Accepted Answer

Services make up most UK exports. In 2025 the UK exported £545.3 billion of services and £384.6 billion of goods, out of £929.8 billion in total, according to ONS data in DBT's UK trade in numbers . The largest service exports in the four quarters to June 2026 were "other business services" such as consulting, legal and engineering (£187.4 billion) and financial services (£110.1 billion). The top goods exports in the 12 months to July 2026 were mechanical power generators such as engines and turbines (£46.7 billion), medicinal and pharmaceutical products (£37.7 billion), cars (£27.2 billion) and crude oil (£17.7 billion). UNCTAD data show the UK was the world's fourth largest exporter of goods and services in 2025. Product categories follow the international SITC classification, so labels can differ from everyday names.

Question 11

How has Brexit affected UK trade?

Accepted Answer

The official benchmark is the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), whose forecasts assume that UK exports and imports will both be around 15% lower in the long run than if the UK had stayed in the EU, and that productivity will be 4% lower. The OBR sets out these assumptions, and the evidence behind them, on its Brexit analysis page, last updated in July 2026. The OBR also judges that new trade deals with non-EU countries are unlikely to have a material effect, because many roll over deals the UK had as an EU member. UK-EU trade has been governed by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement since 1 January 2021. These are modelled estimates against a scenario that did not happen, so they cannot be observed directly. Raw before-and-after comparisons are affected by the pandemic, inflation and a break in how goods trade was recorded.

Question 12

How do I look up UK trade data by country or product?

Accepted Answer

For goods, use HMRC's uktradeinfo site. Its overseas trade table and five-step report tool let you pick a partner country and a product by its Harmonised System (HS) or SITC code, month by month. HMRC's monthly overseas trade release comes out on the same day as the ONS UK trade bulletin. For goods and services together, use the ONS UK trade datasets or DBT's trade and investment factsheets, which summarise trade with each partner. A free uktradeinfo API returns the HMRC data as JSON without a key. HMRC figures count goods crossing the border, while ONS figures are adjusted to a balance of payments basis, so the two can differ for the same country. State which source and basis you used. See our guide to UK trade statistics .

Trade, exports and Brexit: your questions answered