Britain's trade agreement with Japan - the first major such deal announced after Brexit - has been branded a failure as new figures show exports have DROPPED.
The agreement, signed by Liz Truss in October 2020, was hailed as "historic" and Ms Truss claimed it would add billions to the UK economy.
But latest data from the Department for International Trade shows exports fell from £12.3bn to £11.9bn in the 12 months to June this year.
Exports in goods dropped by £6.1bn, while services fell by 2%.
Labour has said the figures show ministers are "not delivering".
The government claimed that deals with countries outside the EU would give the UK a boost as the country took advantage of new economic freedoms.
But ministers have come under fire, with a trade deal with India seemingly stalled and an agreement with the US appearing dead in the water.
Earlier this month former Tory cabinet member George Eustice said a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia "was not actually a very good deal" as the UK "gave away far too much for far too little in return".
Mr Eustice spoke about the need to recognise the "failures" of the Department for International Trade (DiT) during the negotiations with Australia.
After details of the Japan export drop emerged, Labour shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Falling trade with Japan is irrefutable evidence that ministers are not delivering for UK exporters
“The Conservatives have no trade policy worthy of the name and ministers are failing to stand up for UK interests in negotiations.
“This is making the huge economic damage they have caused even worse.”
A Department for International Trade spokesperson said: “Global trade has been significantly impacted by Covid-19, and while trade flows can fluctuate in the short term due a variety of factors, our analysis shows that the UK-Japan CEPA could increase trade by nearly £16bn and increase UK wages by £800m by 2035 compared to not having a deal.”
