Dutch exports to the United Kingdom have been hit hard by Brexit. Last year, 40.5 billion euros worth of goods crossed the North Sea, a fifth less than in 2019, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands.
Goods throughput, in particular, collapsed in the past two years. Trade in foreign goods via the Netherlands to the United Kingdom fell by almost half. “Since Brexit, the United Kingdom has been getting a lot of goods directly from other countries,” says Lyne Biewinga of the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce, which promotes trade between the two countries.
According to Statistics Netherlands, it is mainly Asian trade flows that have shifted. “High-tech goods, but also medicines and clothing used to go to the UK via the Netherlands, among other things,” the statisticians write. “The UK may now be importing these goods directly.”
Homemade
On the other hand, the Netherlands did have more left over from the export of merchandise of its own making. Dutch entrepreneurs mainly sold more computers and specialist machines to the British. Exports of petrol, diesel and kerosene decreased in litres, but increased fuel prices increased their value.
Dutch flower growers also benefited from higher prices. In addition, they also sold more flowers and plants. Car manufacturers sold so much fewer trucks and passenger cars that the export value in that sector fell by a fifth.
Despite the decline in exports, the UK remains one of the main export destinations. Only Germany and Belgium left more merchandise.
Business services
In addition, the Dutch are also increasingly providing services to customers in the UK. The British paid 29 billion euros for this in 2021. That is 58 percent more than in 2015 and 13 percent more than in 2019, the last two benchmarks of Statistics Netherlands.
The main form of service export is business services, such as legal services and accountancy. That yielded 9.8 billion euros last year.
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