If the newly revised-down figures for Britain’s economic performance in the third quarter show anything, it is that consumers played the starring role in the recovery while the industrial sector struggled under the twin pressures of Brexit and global raw material shortages.
This should not come as a surprise. Ever since 2016’s narrow vote to quit the EU, businesses, and especially manufacturers, have failed to move out of second gear.
Disruptions to supply chains come and go – remember the chaos caused by Donald Trump’s trade battles with China – while Brexit is ever-present. Trade figures show a 8.8% fall in goods exports from July to the end of September, at a time when global trade was booming as coronavirus restrictions had eased.
France,
Read more on theguardian.com