Top Lines:
- Latest balance of payment figures for 2015 now available from the 2016 Pink Book.
- The Vote Leave claim of EU costing £350M a week during the referendum campaign was wrong – official figures now show it was an underestimate.
- In 2015, the UK gross contribution to EU institutions was £19.6 bn, equivalent to £377M a week or £54M a day
- In 2015, the UK net contribution to EU institutions was £10.4 bn, equivalent to £199M a week or £28M a day
UK Gross & Net Contributions began rising sharply from 2009 onwards as a result of the abandonment by Mr Blair, then Prime Minister, on 17th December 2005, of part of the Fontainebleau Abatement. The UK Net Contribution more than doubled between 2009 & 2013, to fall back slightly in 2015.
In 2015, 58% of British exports went to the world outside the EU (probably 60% or more when account is taken of the Rotterdam-Antwerp Effect & the Netherlands Distortion). (Taking 60% as the real proportion, this means that UK exports outside the EU are already 50% higher [60 minus 40 divided by 40] than UK exports to the EU.)
In 2015, 42% of British exports (probably 40% or less when account is taken of the Rotterdam-Antwerp Effect & the Netherlands Distortion) went to EU-27.
Cumulatively, between 2011 & 2015, the UK trade surplus with the world outside the EU was £ 69 bn. Over the same period, the UK deficit on trade with EU-27 was £ 421 bn.
The UK traded in deficit with twenty-three of its twenty-seven EU partners in 2014. (Table 9.2 of the 2015 Pink Book)
The UK has a structural surplus on its trade with the USA. In 2015 alone, the UK surplus with the USA was £ 29 billion. The UK has a structural surplus on its trade with Switzerland, Australia & South Korea. With Germany, the UK has a structural deficit.
Download Briefing Note: gb-briefing-note-120-22-11-16