Year over year, the -$231.2 billion in red ink for 2021 represents a -3.1% reduction from the -$238.5 billion deficit that Britain incurred during 2020.
Petroleum gases, mobile phones, cars, computers and crude oil were major drivers for the United Kingdom’s highest trade deficits by product.
Mainland China, Germany, Russia, Italy and Belgium are the 5 trade partners with which United Kingdom suffered the highest negative trade balances during 2021.
To put the United Kingdom’s trade deficit metric into perspective, the UK’s total external debt encompassing both public and private red ink equaled -$9.666 trillion at September 2021. UK’s external debt is the equivalent of roughly 40 times the absolute amount of its negative international trade balance for 2021.
Top UK Trade Balances by Product and Country
Product+
The following 10 leading products generated a surplus subtotal of $35.8 billion for Britain in its global trade during 2021. Metrics listed below highlight the United Kingdom’s strongest competitive advantages over worldwide trading partners in terms of commodities.
- Turbo-jets: $8.1 billion (Up 29.4%)
- Aircraft parts: $6.4 billion (Down -5.4%)
- Alcohol (including spirits, liqueurs): $6.3 billion (Down 20%)
- Iron or steel scrap: $3.7 billion (Up 84.3%)
- Engines (diesel): $2.7 billion (Up 6.9%)
- Precious metal compounds: $2 billion (Up 71.5%)
- Platinum (unwrought): $1.8 billion (Up -19.9%)
- Hand-drawn paintings, drawings: $1.6 billion (Up 73.6%)
- Medication mixes in dosage: $1.56 billion (Down -55.8%)
- Copper waste, scrap: $1.53 billion (Up 92.4%)
Leading percentage increases for the United Kingdom’s product surpluses from 2020 to 2021 were copper waste or scrap (up 92.4%), iron or steel scrap (up 84.3%), hand-drawn paintings, drawings (up 73.6%) then precious metal compounds (up 71.5%).
The severest percentage decline belongs to medication mixes in dosage (down -55.8%) compared to 2020.
Product-
The 10 major products below accumulated a deficit subtotal of -$96.9 billion for the United Kingdom in international trade during 2021. Britain exhibited the severest competitive disadvantages in terms of red ink from exporting and importing the following goods.
- Petroleum gases: -$22 billion (Up 398.3%)
- Phone devices including smartphones: -$13.2 billion (Up -11.2%)
- Cars -$12.6 billion (Down -81.2%)
- Computers, optical readers: -$11.6 billion (Up -1.8%)
- Crude oil: -$7.4 billion (Reversing a $473.4 million surplus)
- Automobile parts/accessories: -$7.2 billion (Down 9.6%)
- Trucks: -$7 billion (Up 61%)
- Cars: -$5.6 billion (Up -31.4%)
- Other diagnostic/lab reagents: -$5.3 billion (Reversing a $358.5 million surplus)
- Miscellaneous furniture: -$5.1 billion (Up 40.2%)
From 2020 to 2021, the United Kingdom’s red ink in global trade expanded at the fastest percentage pace for imported petroleum gases (up 398.3%), trucks (up 61%) and miscellaneous furniture (up 40.2%).
UK product-specific deficits fell at the greatest percentage rates for gold (down -81.2%), cars (down -31.4%) and phone devices including smartphones (down -11.2%).
Country+
In 2021, Britain generated a surplus subtotal worth $54.2 billion with the following 10 trading partners.
- Switzerland: US$28.5 billion (Up 310.3% since 2020)
- United Arab Emirates: $5.6 billion (Up 25.8%)
- Singapore: $5.2 billion (Up 70.4%)
- Hong Kong: $3.7 billion (Reversing a -$4.7 billion deficit)
- Ireland: $2.94 billion (Down -71.8%)
- Saudi Arabia: $2.93 billion (Up 25.1%)
- Australia: $2.2 billion (Reversing a -$5 billion deficit)
- North Macedonia: $1.8 billion (Up 50.9%)
- Egypt: $662.5 million (Up 82.5%)
- Ethiopia: $516.4 million (Up 60.5%)
The greatest percentage increases in per-country surpluses since 2020 came from UK trade with Switzerland (up 310.3%), Egypt (up 82.5%), Singapore (up 70.4%) then Ethiopia (up 60.5%).
The biggest surplus shrinkage came with UK trade with Ireland thanks to -71.8% reduction from 2020 to 2021.
Country-
During 2021, the United Kingdom experienced a deficit with about 95 of its 220-plus trading partners. The following 10 trade partners created a -$196.8 billion deficit subtotal from exchanging exports and imports.
- China: -US$70.2 billion (Up 23.3% since 2020)
- Germany: -$36.3 billion (Up 10.7%)
- Russia: -$21 billion (Down -3.4%)
- Italy: -$13.7 billion (Up 8.4%)
- Belgium: -$11.3 billion (Down -25.6%)
- Spain: -$9.8 billion (Up 31.6%)
- Turkey: -$8.8 billion (Up 71.1%)
- Netherlands: -$8.62 billion (Down -58.8%)
- South Africa: -$8.6 billion (Up 42.2%)
- Poland: -$8.5 billion (Up 6.3%)
The United Kingdom’s county-specific trade deficits in 2021 compared to one year earlier grew with Turkey (up 71.1%), South Africa (up 42.2%), Spain (up 31.6%) and mainland China (up 23.3%).
Britain trimmed the size of its negative trade balances by the greatest percentage amounts with the Netherlands (down -58.8%) and Belgium (down -25.6%).
See also United Kingdom’s Top 10 Exports, United Kingdom’s Top 10 Imports, United Kingdom’s Top Trading Partners and UK’s Major EU Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on March 13, 2022
External Debt (for specified countries), CEIC Data. Accessed on March 13, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 13, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 13, 2022
Wikipedia, Economy of United Kingdom. Accessed on March 13, 2022
