Yes, that what I was led to believe, youngmaf. It just shows you. Here's a couple of snippets from the government's own stats published earlier this year:
- Since July 2013 exports to countries outside the EU have increased 9.3% and imports have decreased 9.6%.
- In Q4 2013 Exports to the EU decreased by £2.4 billion (6.1%) to £36.7 billion and imports from the EU decreased by £0.2 billion (0.3%) to £55.4 billion.
- In Q4 2013 Exports to non-EU countries increased by £0.1 billion (1.2%) to £12.6 billion and imports from non-EU countries decreased by £0.7 billion (4.5%) to £14.8 billion.
It seems to me that trade with the EU is in considerable decline (down almost 10% in just six months) whereas that with Turkey has increased by 40% in four years. The UK might do better to seek markets of its own elsewhere. But that would not be the right message, I suppose.