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Rejoining customs union would not fix damage caused by Brexit, research finds

The Guardian World Thursday 18 June 2026, 04:00 UTC By Heather Stewart Economics editor 1 min read
Key Points

Exclusive: Economists find Brexit caused 12% depression in UK exports, most of which is due to leaving single marketBrexit has depressed UK exports to the EU by 12%, and rejoining the customs union would undo only a fraction of the damage, research shared with the Guardian shows. With the UK’s future relationship with the bloc likely to feature prominently in a potential Labour leadership contest, the economists John Springford and Anton Spisak, of the Centre for European Reform, provide...

Exclusive: Economists find Brexit caused 12% depression in UK exports, most of which is due to leaving single market

Brexit has depressed UK exports to the EU by 12%, and rejoining the customs union would undo only a fraction of the damage, research shared with the Guardian shows.

With the UK’s future relationship with the bloc likely to feature prominently in a potential Labour leadership contest, the economists John Springford and Anton Spisak, of the Centre for European Reform, provide fresh evidence of the damage caused by exiting.

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Brexit (PERSON) UK (LOCATION) EU (ORG) the customs union (ORG) Guardian (ORG) Labour (ORG) John Springford (PERSON) Anton Spisak (PERSON) the Centre for European Reform (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian World Read original →

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