UK ‘losing up to £6.5bn a year in EU trade’ without post-Brexit product deal

The IPPR estimated British manufacturers of motor vehicles and parts have lost up to £3.42bn a year since the UK’s product testing rules diverged from the EU’s. Photograph: Matt Crossick/Alamy

The UK is losing out on annual exports to the EU that could be worth as much as £6.5bn without a deal with Brussels that allows manufacturers to jettison duplicate product testing.

In the latest attempt to calculate the loss of trade with the EU after Brexit, the IPPR thinktank said many companies have given up selling goods to the EU or set up subsidiaries inside the trade bloc after successive governments failed to secure a mutual recognition agreement that would avoid the extra administration costs.