British households shoulder $8.6 billion financial burden because of Brexit food trade barriers: Study

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - British households have shouldered a financial burden of £7 billion ($8.6 billion) since Brexit to account for additional expenses arising from trade barriers on food imports from the EU, a study by the London School of Economics (LSE) revealed Wednesday.

LSE researchers noted that trade barriers consistently hindered imports, costing each household £250 when only considering effects on food since December 2019.

"Between December 2019 and March 2023 food prices rose by almost 25%. This analysis suggests that in the absence of Brexit this figure would be 8 percentage points (30%) lower," the report found.

The UK is currently experiencing significant inflationary pressure, with the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing food prices continued their rapid surge, reaching its highest rate of increase in almost 45 years.

Although the rate of grocery price growth showed a slight deceleration in the year leading up to April, it still stood at 19.1%, approaching record levels.