The old chestnut of 'trade with the Commonwealth' is rearing its head in #Brexit trade circles - short thread.
3 things to remember:
1. Distance, which limits UK trade
2. China has much more trade w C'wealth than UK
3. EU has or is negotiating trade deals with most of Cwlth
1/5

UK’s top 10 trading partners w Commonwealth accounted for only £95.2 billion or 7.3% of UK trade.
2/5

C'wealth is a major trading partner of China (as expected, given China’s strong trading relationships with Africa, Asia and Australasia).
Btw 2000 & 2016, China’s trade w CW grew 8.4 times from US$33 bn to $277 bn. CW trade with rest of the world increased by only 1.1 times.
3/5

Of UK's top 5 CW trading partners:
- 3 already have EU trade agreement in force (South Africa, Canada, Singapore)
- 2 are negotiating w EU (Australia - actively & India, whose negotiations are currently on hold.

4/5

5/5

Most smaller C'wealth countries can already export to the EU tariff-free under 'anything but arms' preferential trade arrangements which aim to support developing countries.

For more details on the above thread - please see Trade section at https://brexitfactbase.com