How Closely is the UK Economy Integrated with the European Union?

The European single market is of prime importance for the British economy. However, since the turn of the millennium, the relative position of the EU for British exports of goods and services has declined. The United Kingdom has a trade deficit with the EU in goods, but a trade surplus in services. While the significance of the United Kingdom for direct investments from the EU member states has increased, Britain itself has invested more and more in non European markets. In cross-border trade in intermediate inputs the UK is relatively closely integrated with the continent not only in finance and business services but also in some manufacturing sectors, such as chemicals and energy. After a so-called Brexit new obstacles to cross-border trade in goods and services could affect these sectors particularly severely.