Britain has surged ahead of the US to become a major European gateway port’s top trading partner in what has been branded a “remarkable” post-Brexit victory.
UK trade with the North Sea Port, which stretches across Belgium and the Netherlands, soared by 26 per cent last year – while the same port’s trade with the US slumped by six per cent.
In total, Britain traded six million tons of goods with the port in 2024, up by 1.2 million on 2023’s numbers, and reversing the drop-off in the years immediately after Brexit.
Over in Belgium, commentators from news site VRT called the resurgence “remarkable” – while the Brussels Times said “the effects of Brexit on the port’s activity appear to be fading”.
And Maarten Den Dekker, of the North Sea Port, told VRT: “That trade is now recovering gives us hope for the future.”
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
UK braces for trade war with Trump as Labour admits tariffs will be ‘paid for by Britons’
While trade with European ports is booming, Labour has warned that Donald Trump’s return to the White House could spark a “tariff war”.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said yesterday that a second Trump Presidency will be “challenging” – and warned that any tariff hikes would be “paid for by Britons”.
“It’s going to be a challenging time for anyone who is responsible for trade in a big economy because of some of those pledges that were made in [Trump’s] campaign,” Reynolds told Sky News.
Asked if he was worried about a tariff war, he said: “I am, because the UK is a very globally-orientated economy, so the exposure, the danger to the UK is actually greater than even some comparable countries around that.
“Ultimately, tariffs are paid for by your own people. So, it’s got real pressures in terms of inflation, in terms of your ability to employ people, to export to other markets.”
Politics LIVE
Welcome back to GB News’ Politics LIVE blog.
We’ll be updating this page throughout the day with live politics updates as they come in.