- New analysis of HMRC figures reveals UK businesses have faced a £7.7bn post-Brexit administrative bill to trade with the European Union over four years.
- Traders filed 160.4 million import and export declarations between 2022 and 2025, with administrative costs reaching £1.8bn in 2022 alone.
- The extreme paperwork burden forced retailer M&S to rent an entire warehouse purely to store required trade documentation.
- Business leaders warned that alternative global export markets have failed to replace lost EU trade, leaving companies struggling under bureaucratic costs.
- The UK government stated its proposed EU deal will cut red tape and potentially add up to £9bn annually to the UK economy.
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