The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has calculated that if no trade deal is established with the European Union, and World Trade Organisation tariffs were applied to both imports and exports, it could raise the cost of trade with Britain by £880m. Its figures show that the cost of exports could increase by £340m and the cost of imports by a substantial £540m.

The BPF’s reports, ‘Understanding Plastics Trade’, analyses trade flow between the UK, the EU and the rest of the world. Each year, the UK imports £13bn of plastic products, material and machinery and exports £8.4bn. This shows plastics to be one of the UK’s top ten imports and exports, with the EU accounting for 69 per cent of all plastics-related trade, followed by Asia (16 per cent) and North America (8 per cent).

No deal impact according to the British Plastics Federation

However, the data also highlights that the UK remains heavily reliant on imports, with an overall plastics trade deficit of £4.6bn. Out of the top 15 countries with which we trade plastics, the UK has a trade deficit with 13 of them. Breaking the numbers down into plastics materials, plastic products and plastics and rubber equipment confirms this trend: the UK generally imports substantially more than it exports to trading partners.

Mike Boswell, Chairman of the BPF’s Brexit Committee, said: “It is clear that the EU is a vital market for the UK plastics industry and plastics are absolutely crucial to the success of the UK economy. The UK is a successful exporter of plastic materials, products and machinery but also remains highly reliant upon imports, making it essential that a favourable trade deal is struck with the EU. If no deal is reached, a significant increase in the cost of both exports and imports will undermine the competitiveness of the UK’s plastics sector at a crucial time for cementing existing trade links and exploring new opportunities.

“It is important to note that it is not just the tariffs that will affect trade; the impact of non-tariff barriers could be just as severe and there is an absolute need for streamlined customs clearance procedures to be put in place.”