Economists say the effects of the Brexit deal are 'worsening'.

Brexit red tape on British businesses has hit trade in goods between the UK and the EU and the problem is getting worse, a study has warned.

A report by Aston University Business School found that many small UK producers have stopped exporting small quantities to the EU after facing more regulations.

Between 2021 and 2023, the study calculates that UK goods exports to the EU are 27% lower and imports are 32% lower than they would have been without Brexit.

The report excludes the service sector, which has performed better than many experts expected after Brexit.

The variety of trade exports has also fallen, with 1,645 fewer types of British products being exported to each EU country, the study found.

The authors said this is because small British producers have stopped exporting goods to some EU countries after facing an increase in red tape.

Mary Quick, of Quick's Cheeses in Devon, told the BBC's Today program that she had found it “really difficult to deal with all the regulatory burdens”.

It said it used to supply four customers directly in the EU but “we had to give them to someone else”.

“We don't have people to do the paperwork.”

Adam Soffer, co-founder and chief executive of Jo & Safe Popcorn, also finds post-Brexit regulations a burden.

He founded the company 13 years ago and it is now an £8m business with 70 employees.

He said Brexit was “very difficult at the beginning. We were being asked for weight certificates for caramel popcorn because it has butter in it.”

Before Brexit in the EU, individuals, cinemas and retail stores could order popcorn online and have it sent by Royal Mail or a courier service, but then “it all stopped”.

He said Brexit had led to “huge extra costs due to extra administration”.

Bulk delivery to the EU has been restored, but where it used to cost around £130 per pallet, it now costs £230-£250, mainly due to red tape and administrative fees.

He said that if these laws can be improved, there are many opportunities for development.

The report states that “adverse effects [trade agreement] It has intensified over time, with 2023 showing a more pronounced trade deficit than previous years.”

Jon Doe, one of the study's authors, told the BBC that regulations such as “product standards, safety checks and labeling requirements” have increased.

“While these measures protect consumers, competition and the environment, they also increase difficulties and costs for traders,” he said.

According to the study, agri-food, textiles and materials manufacturing (wood and paper) are the most affected.

Trade with more distant countries in the EU has also been hardest hit, including Commonwealth allies such as Cyprus and Malta.

However, the report's authors say a few sectors have proved resilient, particularly in terms of exports to large EU economies such as Germany and France.

The tobacco, railway and aircraft sectors saw growth in various types of exports to EU countries.

A government spokesman said it would “work to improve our trade and investment relationship with the EU and remove unnecessary trade barriers, while recognizing that the single market, customs union or mobility There will be no return to freedom”.

The BBC understands that in recent meetings with the government, business representatives were invited to give preliminary ideas on how to “reset” trade relations with the EU, focusing on “economic security”.

Progress is unlikely until next year, when the new European Commission is firmly in place, and the UK itself has completed a new industrial and trade strategy.